


Lord in the Underrealm

by Sanctified_Jasper



Series: Winx Alt Con [2]
Category: Winx Club
Genre: Alternative Winx Club Continuity, Canon Rewrite, Season 2, Winx Alt Con, Writing Style: Summary Format
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-21 02:37:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 27,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17034919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sanctified_Jasper/pseuds/Sanctified_Jasper
Summary: In the aftermath of the Siege of Magix, a lone fairy attempts a daring rescue, the outcome of which leads her to Alfea and the Winx.The Siege might be over, the Trix might be captured, but actions have consequences, and an Ancient Enemy has awoken.





	1. Week 09.2

**Author's Note:**

> An alternative take on the Winx Club storyline, written in summary format.  
> It takes the plot elements and characters from the original, and tweaks it into a subtly different story.  
> Occasionally skims the edges of dark and gritty, with a hint of realism sneaking its way in.
> 
> This universe operates on an Altered Timeline from the canon.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episodes 201, 202 (partial), 203-206.

While the students of The Three Schools, and their teachers, are focusing on clean up and recovery, a single fairy has her own mission far, far below.

Having followed the lingering Bond from the spell they cast together during the reign of the Army of Decay, Aisha tracks the kidnapped pixies to a monstrous lair in an enormous cavern.

Shaking from the lack of sleep, food and magic, Aisha makes her way up the side of the citadel, having to stop every now and then to rest, and to hide from the increasing number of guards.

Alone, magically exhausted and scared, Aisha is starting to succumb to the despair that seems to infect the very air she's breathing, losing hope of ever finding her friends. It is only the Bond between herself and Piff, (barely felt under the weight of the oppressive atmosphere) stowed safely in her hood, that keeps her moving forward.

Eventually she hears the familiar voice of Chatta making escape plans, crawling through a window Aisha lays eyes on the pixies for the first time in two days. The pixies are as pleased to see Aisha as she is to see them, and following Lockette's directions, the fairy manages to break the magical seal containing them.

Their escape from Shadowhaunt goes well.

Until it doesn't.

A dark red, skeletal looking wizard confronts Aisha as she's reaching the exit to his lair, surrounding her with his monsters, he recognises her from his minion Kerbog, who had been the one to kidnap the pixies with Aisha, in a crime of opportunity.

While his monsters recapture the pixies, the evil wizard considers the possibility that Aisha knows the location of the pixie village, and knowing the fairy will say 'no' no matter what the truth is, he decides to kill two birds with one stone. Because of the Nature of the pixies, there is a mind breaking curse that would kill them immediately rather than crack their minds open to his probing magic.

This spell does work on fairies though.

As Aisha feels a sense of terror creep into her brain, the pixies start calling for her to run, none of them know what the wizard wants with the pixie village, but they can feel the evil that seeps from him, and know that what ever he's after, it can't be good.

Breaking free of the wizard and his monsters, Aisha silently promises the pixies that she'll be back, prays to any being that might hear her, and throws herself from the malignant citadel and down into the darkness below.

As she plummets downwards, Aisha senses a body of deep water, does her best to angle herself towards it, preparing to hit the surface, she realises she's not alone, and at the last second, she risks herself to cover her precious cargo, her beloved Bonded pixie Piff.

Aisha is a fairy of water, and the deep lake welcomes her, but as fast as she's falling, the waters cannot part enough to drain sufficient momentum to stop injuries.

Thankfully, Aisha isn't conscious enough to feel the bones in her legs fracture.

 

* * *

 

Aisha's body is swept along by the currents, until it is noticed by spirits and creatures in the water, they recognise her as a fairy, and take her and the pixie with her, to safety.

Safety in this case is the shores of Lake Roccaluce, where Daphne comes to investigate the surge of spirit creatures. After getting caught up on the situation, Daphne reaches out to Bloom across their newly strengthened familial bond.

 

* * *

 

At Alfea, Bloom startles badly when she feels Daphne reach out, knowing only that Daphne needs her at the lake. Urgently. Luckily, the Winx are helping with clean up in the courtyard, and Faragonda is nearby. The headmistress gives the girls permission to investigate Daphne's summons, and a reminder to be careful; the Army might be gone, the Trix might be imprisoned, but who knows what dark creatures may have crept into Magix in the aftermath.

The Winx transform and fly to the lake (because it's urgent and flying is faster and they're not stupid) where they find Daphne watching over a young woman and a pixie, both unconscious on the grass.

Daphne gives them a run down of what she knows, what she was told, which is not much, just that the spirits found her in the waters of the Underground. And that the fairy seems to be suffering under an extremely malevolent enchantment.

Bloom takes a moment to apologise to Daphne for not getting back to her since the Battle, but Daphne waves her off, she'd been the leader of the Nymphs of Magix, she knew about clean up duties.

Using a spell they'd had a crash course on earlier in the week, the Winx create a magical stretcher-pod around the fairy, scoop up the pixie and take off. The five fairies spread out around the stretcher, to protect their precious cargo from any further harm.

As the group flies, Tecna uses her powers to contact Faragonda and let her know to expect a patient. Many of the injured amongst the staff and students have been evacuated to Medeor, a planet known for its advanced medical science, so there are beds to spare in the in the designated healing areas.

Ofelia is waiting by the entrance when the Winx land, immediately running scans over the fairy. The healer alerts Faragonda to the curse digging into the mystery girl's mind and Faragonda whips out her vial of Fairy Dust, dousing the younger fairy liberally with the magical glitter. Several long minutes later, Ofelia confirms the magic has dissipated, but the effects of the spell still linger.

Her mind is trapped within itself, inside a nightmare.

According to the healer, they'll need to wait, to see if the girl can release herself, or if someone will have to violate her mind further by going in to pull her out.

In the mean time, Ofelia heals the fractures in the girl's legs, and does what she can for the pixie.

 

* * *

 

The next day, when the girl shows no sign of waking, Faragonda makes a decision, she calls Mirta and the Winx to the sick bay where she lays out the plan.

Ofelia takes the patient to the auditorium, where there will be enough room, and the girls set up.

Faragonda has searched the fabric of magic (or some other mystical bullshit) and determined that the Winx are Destiny Touched. A known phenomenon that affects a few people every generation or so, drawing them to major events that only they can impact in a meaningful way.

(While the will of the universe can affect the Destiny Touched, it cannot make them do anything they don't want to do. At best, it puts them on the right path, like ensuring that one worn coat hanger breaks, causing a mess which delays two fairies from returning to Alfea so they arrive at the exactly right time to see intruders plotting evil.)

(Side Effects include: being a Main Character.)

The headmistress can sense that somehow, their fate and their mystery patient's fate, are intertwined. And not just because Bloom's sister found her.

Around the central figure of their guest, the Winx lay themselves like equidistant spokes on a wheel, heads towards the sixth girl, with her torso as the focal point. With Mirta's help (Mirta's powers connecting emotions and illusion and being compatible with the concept of Dreams) Faragonda places the five Winx into a deep slumber, aided by sand from the wizard Morpheus, Faragonda and Mirta craft a spell that allows the Winx to dream-walk into someone else's subconscious mind, so they can find the trapped fairy, and bring her out.

Hopefully before permanent damage can occur.

As the spell takes effect, an idea nags at Mirta, and she leaves Faragonda to watch over the six girls.

 

* * *

 

With in the dream world, the Winx find themselves on a desolate island of cold rock and ruins, surrounded by an uninviting ocean made of tar.

At the centre of the small island, the Winx find their mystery girl being assaulted by another woman. The strange foe wears a large white, almost feathered looking cape, and unleashes whirlpools of energy onto the fairy, who struggles back to her feet and keeps fighting.

The Winx rush to help, summoning shields to protect the girl while Flora and Bloom check her over. The girl tells them to get out of the way, that she has to beat the creature attacking her, only for Stella to yell that she doesn't, the creature isn't real.

Confused and on the offensive, Tecna tries a more logical approach, explaining that they are currently in the girl's dream, in her nightmare, the world around her isn't _real_ so much as the _after effects of a curse_.

The girl stops struggling, for a moment, seeming to remember something. She snarls, and begins ranting about a monstrous wizard who'd kidnapped her friends, demanding to know if the Winx are working for 'him.'

The Winx deny it, trying to fend off the attacks from both the creature outside their shield, and the angry fairy within.

Suddenly the girl stills again, raising her hands to her chest, she whispers 'Piff?' and tells the Winx she doesn't understand. Flora tries her hand at explaining, mentioning finding her washed ashore under the effects of a curse, she explains the world around them is a nightmare, only the fairy who dreamt it up knows how to defeat the world.

The fairy admits she can't defeat it, and Musa suggests that's the answer, if the world locked her into an unwinnable battle, maybe the way to win, is to not play. Bloom tells the girl to focus on her pixie companion, who's waiting for her in the waking world. The girl does, ignoring the creature who screeches in rage and demands to be fought. One by one, the Winx turn their back on the aggressor, curling around the fairy in a hug, positions mimicking those of their real world bodies.

 

* * *

 

The mystery girl automatically curls her body protectively around the pixie that had been resting on her chest, even as she struggles to orientate herself.

Ofelia arrives with blankets and hot drinks for the six girls. As Faragonda talks to the new fairy, Mirta explains to the Winx that she thought the presence of a Bonded pixie might help, so had brought the pixie from the medical wing. Overhearing Mirta, the fairy confirms that it did help, introduces herself to the group as Aisha, and her Bonded, Piff.

Faragonda startles as she realises why the girl looks so familiar, and confirms with her that she is the princess of Andros, revealing that she knew Aisha's father a long time ago. Aisha begs the headmistress not to tell her father where she is, not until Aisha has her friends back.

The Winx ask what happened to them, and Aisha tells the story, from the day of the Army, to the evil wizard's last attack.

A very pale Faragonda suspects she might know who Aisha is talking about and, after warning the girls what she is about to do, creatures an illusion of an old, old enemy. Aisha jumps to her feet and snarls.

That's him.

Faragonda sinks to the ground and the seven girls, and Ofelia, immediately crowd around her. The nurse waves the girls back, and they give the two older women some room, but Faragonda waves Ofelia off, and begins to explain her reaction.

She tells them about a time, a little over two centuries before, when she and Griselda were still students, when Bloom's mother was a student at Alfea. She talks about her friendship with the girl who would one day be the Vessel of the Dragon Flame, and of the time Miriam was kidnapped by an evil wizard, a creature named Darkar.

A being who turned out to not just be an evil wizard, but possibly the Origin of Evil in the Magical Dimension.

Faragonda relates the first adventure of the group that would make up the majority of the Company of Light, telling Bloom that her father, Oritel, was part of the rescue mission to save Miriam. And that the mission ended with Darkar imprisoned in his keep, which was all the group could do at the time.

She also tells them she has suspicions concerning Darkar's plans with the pixies, but whether she's right or wrong, the pixies need to be rescued.

Aisha immediately declares she's going back down to rescue her friends, and the Winx promise to go with her. Aisha rebukes them, which leads to a brief argument of 'I don't need your help/uh yes, you clearly do.'

Ofelia cuts them all off, saying that none of them are going anywhere 'today.' Aisha still needing time to recover from her ordeal, and the Winx need to recuperate from the dream walk.

Faragonda adds that the Underrealm where Darkar's fortress lies, an uncharted maze of tunnels and caverns, is a place that affects fairy magic in a negative way. Some fairies are drained slowly, others quickly, some can't access their magic, and others loose control of their powers.

Faragonda promises to put together a rescue mission, but first she must speak with Griffin and Saladin, and the girls must rest.

The Winx offer to take Aisha back to their dorm, so she can sleep in a proper bed. Faragonda agrees that might be the best idea, and gives them leave. As the six girls reach the door, Flora turns back and asks Mirta if she's coming along. Mirta startles and hurries after them.

Faragonda gets a suspicious look on her face, but lets it go for now, she has to head teachers to talk to.

 

* * *

 

In the Winx's dorm, the seven young women sit around the dorm's coffee table. Tecna cuts Aisha off before the girl can begin by addressing Mirta, asking if the Cloud Tower student can use her powers to create something from someone-else's memories. Mirta takes a moment to consider, and says she thinks she might be able to, if the person in question is co-operating.

Tecna explains her plan to her, and to Aisha. Both girls agree.

Joining their powers together, Mirta and Tecna create a digital map of Aisha's journey in the Underrealm. As they work on logistics, Aisha tells the girls everything she can remember of the fortress.

The girls realise they'll need to go in small groups to avoid detection, and take back-up potions and emergency charms. Musa confirms they have several left from the battle earlier in the week. Stella and Bloom separate from the group to track down climbing gear and protective clothing for their trip.

With a plan in place, and supplies ready, and Aisha asleep on the couch, the Winx and Mirta talk about how to get to the cavern entrance.

A quiet 'ahem' from the door startles them all, and they look guiltily over at Faragonda, who is watching them with exasperated fondness. The head mistress steps aside to reveal the Specialists.

Brandon greets the girls with a joking, 'you know girls, _we_ have a ship.' To which the girls snort a reply that they have their own. (referring to _The Sparx_.)

Sky counteracts with 'ah yes, but we come with swords, and immunity to the anit-magic effects of the Underrealm.' Which the Winx allow, are good properties to have, but they've already figured out they'll need a small team for stealth reasons, and seven is already a bit large in terms of party size.

Mirta offers to stay in Alfea, which still leaves the group with a decision to make.

A decision Faragonda believes she can make easier. Mirta stays in the dorm, in case Aisha wakes up, and the rest of the Winx go with Faragonda and the specialists to the Magical Reality Chamber. It may have been centuries since Faragonda felt the full effects of the Underrealm, but she has a spell that can replicate it for the Winx.

Within the spell, things go... not as well as the Winx expect.

Flora and Tecna struggle to transform and Musa's sonic energy quickly goes out of control, the properties of the stone around them playing havoc with the vibrations.

Bloom and Stella seem to be fine, though Stella mentions she doesn't like being underground for long periods of time, and feels like the effects of the Underrealm will wear away at her.

The Winx ask if Faragonda knew what would happen, and she confirms she had a good idea. Bloom's connection with the Dragon Fire would make her all but immune to the effects, though she'd probably feel increasing discomfort, if her mother's experiences were anything to go by.

Stella would endure, like the light from the suns that made its way through the cold dark of space and became starlight, she would withstand the darkness of the Underrealm until she was worn away, though it would take time.

Musa's powers were thrown off by her lack of familiarity with the vibrational conductors, and Tecna and Flora struggled because the effects of the Underrealm magnified their separation from the sources of their powers.

Bloom steps in with a confused 'but aren't rocks technically nature too?' which leads to a very confused 'what/what/huh/fairy of nature/fairy of _nature_ ' conversation that ends when Musa puts her hands over Bloom's ears and tweaks the Universal Translation Spell a little. After which the entire group realises that Bloom has been hearing Flora's power source _wrong_ the entire time they'd known one another. While Bloom hears Nature, the all encompassing term of everything that exists that is not made by people. Flora is using a term that doesn't _quite_ translate into Earth English, and means Nature, but specifically the Aspect of Nature of that which is _all_ _plants_.

The group has a brief hysterical giggle over it, before getting serious again.

They know Aisha can withstand the effects, and will be going no matter what, so she, Stella and Bloom will be on the team.

Riven, who's been lurking at the edges of the group, suggests that they'll need two to pilot and play gunner in the ship, since Darkar may have the entrances guarded now.

Sky and Brandon want to go with the girls, so Timmy and Riven are elected to stay with the ship, flying the group in and dropping them off.

Tecna refuses to be left out entirely, and talks Timmy into helping her create a base of operations. Faragonda leaves the students to their tasks, certain they'll be able to get the job done.

Flora, feeling a little useless and sorry for herself, decides to spend the night making up some more first aid fillers, and a few surprises for the team to use.

Musa agrees to help Tecna and Timmy with their project, and Bloom and Stella head off to deal with the supply redistribution.

The remaining boys head off to their ship for pre-mission maintenance.

 

* * *

 

Aisha wakes a few hours after sunrise, and for a few minutes is confused, then for a few more minutes, is panicked, convinced she's been left behind.

Then the Winx come through the doors with breakfast and clothes for her to wear, and get her caught up on the new team and plan. With breakfast finished, Aisha takes a shower and dresses for the mission.

She comes back to find both Stella and Bloom dressed in the same long, sturdy but stretchy trousers and long sleeved shirts. Their climbing harnesses and vests on a chair nearby.

Bloom's hair has been done up in twists and braids and is out of the way, no longer at risk of getting caught in the climbing gear or ropes. The fire fairy is working on Stella's hair, and when the blonde sees Aisha has returned, she gestures for Aisha to take a seat before her, so Stella can do her hair.

Reluctantly, and uncertain, Aisha allows it.

(For a few moments, Aisha allows herself some comfort in the sensation of someone playing with her hair again.)

Ready for action, the trio head down to the ship, where the specialists are waiting for them. Timmy looks tired, but presents the trio with the fruits of his and Tecna's all-nighter.

As the ship takes off, the remaining Winx, and Mirta, secure themselves in the Magical Reality Chamber, waiting for the signal from the project.

 

* * *

 

As the rescue mission's field team nears the entrance Aisha used on her first attempt, everyone gets ready for a fight, but nothing appears to bar their way. Suspicious, the group drops from the ship on ropes to a ledge too small to land the ship on.

From the ship door, Timmy wishes the group good luck, and releases a small swarm of mechanical bugs to act as relays. The bugs spread out until they reach from the mine entrance, to the entrance of the fissure they'd piloted the ship through.

At Alfea, the imaging system in the MRC comes online, and begins displaying the area the bugs have mapped.

While Timmy and Riven move the ship to a clearing nearby, the field team begins their journey into the mine, the members pausing every now and then to jab a tube at the rock walls, leaving behind microscopically thin, clear discs.

The discs are almost-impossible-to-see transmitters, relaying data back through the network to the crew in Alfea. (The project Tecna and Timmy pulled the all-nighter on.)

As the light from the surface fades, the field team turn on their lights, attached to the their head gear, right next to the cameras sending video back to Alfea, and the radio unit.

After only half an hour, the team, yet to encounter any sort of security, find a door in the otherwise organic looking cavern. Aisha mentions she recalls this door from her previous trip, but it was open then. Sky pulls out a small device and begins to pick the lock, when the girls express interest, Brandon tells them it was something Riven lent them for the mission.

Since the siege of Alfea, Riven had been talking with the other boys more, and they'd been working things out between the four of them.

The door unlocks, and the group slips through, closing the door behind them. (but not before they place a line of transmitters on the ground where there's a scant millimetre of clearance between the heavy doors and the floor.)

 

* * *

 

A while later, the group takes a break, having been walking for a while. Aisha pulls up the map, frowning. When the others ask what's wrong, Aisha shows them: from her recollection, they should have reached some crystal formations by now, and the map agrees.

Getting in contact with Tecna and the others at Alfea (though the radios are beginning to experience lag) Tecna compares the map of Aisha's memory, and the data they're collecting with the transmitters: the caverns have moved.

Somehow, the area beyond the door has altered, the route diverging only slightly at first, now had them almost a kilometre away from where they should have been. Despite openings in the tunnel behind them, the current direction of the cavern leads closer to their destination, hoping for better luck further in, they make the choice to keep moving forwards.

Eventually, the group comes to a branch, four possible routes to choose from, they mark each one for several metres in, then release a second canister of robo-bugs, letting the miniscule cybernetic insects map the tunnels for them. Tecna interprets the data, letting the field team know the lag is getting really bad, likely an affect of the caverns anti-magic, but one of the recon teams of bugs sent back some interesting info.

One of the tunnels leads to an underground city.

Realising the city is their best bet, the field team moves on.

 

* * *

 

When the team arrives at the city, they're exhausted, their feet are sore, and they really need to stop for snacks. Especially Stella, who's finally started feeling the draining effects of the Underrealm.

At the edge of the city, the group is stopped by several very large guards, and while the group is ready to fight, they decide to try a diplomatic approach first. The guards agree to escort them to meet with their princess, who will decide their fate.

The princess is named Amentia, and she is curious to meet the intruders, and welcomes them to Downland. She listens to their story and admits there has been something unusual going on in the caverns, an ancient malaise spreading through the rocks.

Amentia is prepared to allow a single guide to show the group to the presumed source of evil, and is talking about payments, when Stella collapses. A young Downlander darts forward, summoning a small ball of energy to his hand and casting it over Stella's prone form before anyone can react.

Amentia demands to know what is happening, and the young man informs her that the fairy is feeling a magnified negative effect of the Underrealm's odd magical properties. The magic that interacts poorly with fairies, is being magnified by the deep ground magic of the Downland crystals, the magically opposing nature of Stella's own powers.

Amentia summons a litter and carriers to have her returned to the surface.

The entire rescue team goes with her, the Downlander male leading the way. He introduces himself as Sponsus.

The trip back to the surface takes very little time, barely twenty minutes of walking (at the slow pace of the litter bearers) and the group once again feels sunshine on their faces. Though it is the very late afternoon sunshine, since they'd been in the Underrealm for several hours.

Within minutes, Stella has returned to her normal self, and the group take a few moments to talk: they have to get to the lair of Darkar, but Stella can't spend too much time in Downland, which they will have to go through to get to Shadowhaunt.

There's a chance she was only hit so bad by the negative effects because they'd already been down in the Underrealm so long, but it's Stella's chance to take. The fairy of the Sun and Moon decides it's worth it, certain she can hold out long enough to get the job done.

The group heads back down into the world below.

 

* * *

 

Back at Alfea, Diaspro arrives to escort Sky back to Eraklyon. Since the school was all but destroyed during the Trix's assault, Red Fountain has decided to begin it's school holidays a week early, while it is being rebuilt.

With the witches slowly moving back into Cloud Tower, and the fairies shared between repairs at Alfea and repairs at Magix, it takes Disapro a little while to track anyone down.

Confronting the Winx over the distinct lack of Sky, Diaspro demands to know his location, and upon finding out, gets pissed. She swears she just had this conversation with him a few days ago.

Flora reminds Diaspro that Sky is capable, and at the moment, the best available. Diaspro doesn't care, this is the second time in a week she's been sent to bring Sky home, and by the Dragon, this time it's happening if she has to drag him by his hair.

Realising she's serious, and on the war path, Tecna gives the princess the coordinates for the opening near Downland, and a device linked to their mapping system.

As she storms back to her ship to fetch the prince, Diaspro is stopped by Mirta and Faragonda. The headmistress explains quickly about the side effects of the Underrealm, and that as a former witch, Mirta should be fine. She also mentions that Diaspro, who has an 'earth aligned' power type, should also be fine, but the extra back up never hurt, especially since it seemed like Diaspro would want to move faster than the guards with her could run.

The blonde agrees, and the two young fairies board the ship.

 

* * *

 

In Downland, the group meets up with their guide, and Amentia sets her terms: Brandon stays with her as collateral until the group returns. (with their guide (who had better be alive).)

Realising Stella doesn't have the time to stay and argue to point, Brandon sends the others off, promising they can sort it all out when they get back.

With a goodbye kiss, Stella leaves reluctantly, the remaining group making their way to Shadowhaunt at last.

As they disappear into the caverns, Brandon turns to Amentia, trying to figure out what kind of political manoeuvre he'd just been roped into. (He's been around Sky (and the royal court) long enough to spot a power play when he sees one.)

 

* * *

 

The way to Shadowhaunt takes little time at all now that they've got a guide, and the team soon emerges into an immense cavern, an enormous citadel hanging from the ceiling like a macabre, carved stalactite.

Looking around, Aisha spots the chain bridge where she'd made her way across to the citadel the first time. It's several hundred metres away from them and down a bit, with no obvious path to it from their location.

Stella makes a joke about them finally getting a chance to use the climbing gear they'd brought along. Thanking the guide for their help, the group sends the Downlander back, assuring them that the group will be able to find their own way back. Uncertain, the guide goes.

The rescue team makes decent time down and across the cavern walls to the bridge, determined to save every last scrap of magical power they can, just in case.

Crossing the chain bridge takes time, as Stella deals with a resurgence of nausea from the power drain, coupled with the swinging of the bridge, but eventually they make it into the citadel proper. Pulling out their last canister of robo-bugs, the team lets the swarm loose, swearing quietly from their hidden alcove as the bugs return _A LOT_ of enemy signatures.

The cavern and citadel are illuminated by an unknown source, so the group turn off their lights, and begin the stealth portion of their mission, all of them wondering why this is the first real sign of enemies they've seen. (Unbeknownst to them, Darkar had assumed Aisha died, either from his spell, the fall, or drowning, and figured no one else had reason to suspect he was awake again, so he stuck to building his forces in his citadel before he made his first move (other than stealing the pixies, which was really a crime of opportunity.))

Despite several close calls, the group finally makes it to the pixies' holding cell. Though he thinks she's dead, Darkar isn't a complete idiot, and has improved the locks since Aisha's first visit. Luckily for the group, the boys packed some explosives, unluckily, it's going to be loud.

With Aisha's morphix ability and Sky's knowledge of things that go boom, they manage to craft a shaped charge over the lock that does the job of destroying it, freeing the pixies. The escape is waylaid for a few seconds as Stella and Bloom meet Amore and Lockette for the first time, their magics reaching out to one another in an attempt to form a Bond.

Thankfully Sky and Aisha are there to get the group moving again. The group manages to avoid the first few shadow monsters Darkar sends to investigate, but soon enough they run almost head first into a swarm of the evil creatures. The trio of fairies transform, and with Sky showing off his competence with a sword, the group manages to fight their way to the entrance.

Stella looses her transformation first, though it took longer than she thought it would, the new tendril of Amore's magic curled into her own seemed to bolster her for a few extra minutes of fight time. With the sheer number of creatures besieging them, Aisha has to drop to the ground, rerouting any magic that was keeping her airborne into the fight so she doesn't loose her transformation. Meanwhile, Bloom is fighting both the monsters, and a growing feeling of inexplicable terror and revulsion. The Dragon Fire is beating back the effect of the cavern, but it can also sense the Shadow Fire that Darkar wields, and it is not happy. (or as not-happy as a demi-sentient power source can get.)

The group finds it's way back onto the bridge, Sky helping Stella and fighting off any monsters that gets through Aisha and Bloom's guard. One monster gets off a lucky shot of slime, and Bloom plummets a few metres, Aisha lunges to catch her before she can fall into the chasm below. Together, they manage to get Bloom back onto the bridge, but the monsters are too close, Bloom's feeling the normal effects of over use of power, and Aisha is seconds away from detransforming.

From somewhere on the bridge behind them, Stella lets out a yell as she tosses a bottle into the crowd, summoning the last of her magical strength (once more assisted by Amore) Stella casts a beam of pure sunlight, scorching a few of the shadow monsters, and activating several seeds. They blossom quickly into trees that spill magical light, which gives the monsters several moments pause as they try to find a way to combat the new threat.

By the time they manage to overwhelm the trees, the rescue team and the pixies are across the bridge and Sky is quick to slice through the chains holding it in place. The bridge swings down across the empty air, crashing into the lowest sections of the citadel, and causing some minor damage. A large chunk of the creatures are now trapped, but another portion of the enemy forces can fly.

The group scrambles for their climbing gear, none of the fairies are able to fly themselves (Aisha having finally lost her transformation, and Bloom's wings being covered in a gunk which disrupted her flight magic) and Stella is barely able to walk on her own, but the group isn't prepared to risk an unknown tunnel. The Pixies prepare themselves to face the monsters, knowing they'll barely do any damage to the malicious creatures, when a loud shriek erupts from one of the higher tunnel openings.

A swarm of terrifying avian beasts burst forth from what Sky realises is the tunnel _they_ came out of, the new creatures slam into the shadow monsters, tearing several to shreds, and those that aren't taken out by the new comers, are struck by some very familiar (to Sky) projectiles.

Diaspro and Mirta flit in and around the flying shadow monsters, purging enough of them to get some breathing room. Diaspro gives Sky a foul look that comes with the promise of a stern talking too, and as quickly as she can, summons her magic to craft a stone walkway up to the Downlander's tunnel. She dissolves it behind them and Mirta summons an illusionary swarm on trillions of butterflies to mask their escape.

Back in the tunnel, Diaspro casts a spell to close the entrance, covering it in stone, while Mirta pulls out a bottle of glowing light. Stella perks up as Mirta hands it to her, pulling the cap and sculling the whole thing in five seconds flat. Mirta explains that one of the older students who'd stopped by the MRC with lunch for the rest of the Winx, had found the bottled sunlight in her potions kit, and passed it to Faragonda in case Stella needed some solar concentrate when she got back. Faragonda, of course, had handed it to Mirta when the former witch had decided to accompany Diaspro.

Diaspro explains that she's been given orders to retrieve Sky, again, and that he really does have to return to Eraklyon this time. Sky relents, tells Diaspro they have to go pick up Brandon, and the group makes their way back to Downland. Aisha asks how the duo found them, and Mirta is happy to share the details, including their top speed flight from the ship through the tunnels.

The group finally makes it back to the underground city, where they find festivities underway, getting a bad feeling about it, the group makes quick work of finding Brandon, who seems to be at the centre of things, with Amentia.

At an altar.

Stella pushes through the crowd, demanding to know what is going on, Amore at her side. Amentia scoffs and tells the blonde that it's a wedding. Duh. She goes on to say that when the guide returned alone, well, assumptions were made.

Stella marches right up to the altar, and tells Amentia off for trying to marry Stella's boyfriend. She gets even more pissed off when she spots a magical armlet on Brandon's bicep, realising immediately how the sallow underground princess had gotten the boy to the altar in the first place.

Amentia hisses back that Brandon is her best chance to hang on to her power, since he's an up-worlder, the people would never give him authority over her, it's happened in her people's past, the rightful blood rulers loosing power to their spouse. Amentia refuses to let that happen to her, and besides, everyone who'd ever shown an interest in her was only after the power anyway.

Amore finally pipes up, saying that isn't true, and she can feel a heart that loves her, Amentia, more than anything else. Amore introduces herself as the pixie of love, and offers to show Amentia the feelings in the heart she can sense.

Cautiously, Amentia agrees, and is almost swept away be the strength of the mystery hearts love for her. In that instant, she knows this heart is incapable of betraying her, of casting her aside, it would love her even after death.

Looking around she spots Sponsus in the crowd, looking forlorn and heartbroken, but ready to support any decision she makes, and she know, deep in her soul, that it's his heart she feels. Making her choice, she all but shoves Brandon and Stella away, yelling for them to get off the altar and for Sponsus to get up there.

Without hesitation he goes.

The rescue team stays just long enough after that for Amentia to throw a communication device at Stella's head, and tell them to get out of her kingdom. Up on the surface, both the Eraklyon transport and the Specialists ship, the Owl, are waiting for them, Tecna having called ahead on their behalf when the sensors showed them returning to the surface.

Diaspro, Sky and Brandon head directly back to Eraklyon, with Riven and Timmy promising to clear things with Codatorta and Saladin, and everyone else returns to Alfea. There, Aisha and Piff are reunited and congratulations are delayed as Tecna, Musa and Flora experience their own Bonding. Tecna is amazed at the probability of the pixies and the Winx all being so compatible, but Flora reminds her of what Faragonda said about the group being Destiny touched.

Mirta feels a little uncomfortable, like she's intruding and makes some excuses to leave. The rest of the girls watch her go, realising she hadn't bonded with a pixie and was feeling out of place. They decide to let her be for now, and the Winx plus Aisha and the pixies, return to their dorm for some celebratory sleep.


	2. Week 10/11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episodes N/A

In Shadowhaunt, Darkar contemplates the ginger haired fairy who broke into his lair, realising quickly that she must be related to Miriam, the Vessel-to-be he'd once kidnapped (before her friends had shown up to put him to sleep).

 

The difference between Miriam and this new fairy, is that the new one already held the Dragon Fire, he wouldn't need a ritual to force it to shift into her, as he had with the other. Which meant less time for her to be rescued before he finished his task.

 

Plotting his future victory, Darkar decides to gather information, including: How long he's been asleep, who is this new fairy, where do the objects of his quest lie, and who woke him from his slumber?

 

* * *

The morning after the Winx and Aisha return with the pixies, the group is called to Faragonda's office. They have a few issues they need to deal with.

 

The first concerns Aisha directly, as Faragonda has contacted the girl's parents on Andros and explained the situation to them. While the king and queen were frantic when they realised their daughter was missing, they are now distraught at the realisation she is entangled in a dangerous situation whether she wants out or not.

 

After two hours of... talking, Faragonda has managed to get them to agree to allow Aisha to transfer to Alfea if she so chooses. Aisha does (jumping on the chance to be away from the palace and closer to the pixies).

 

The girls fall into a brief confrontation when the Stella assumes Aisha will be joining the Winx, but Aisha rejects the idea.

 

Flora manages to interrupt before things can get too heated however, and Faragonda brings up the second thing they all need to discuss.

 

Having a pixie Bond is a huge step for a fairy, it's a potentially life long commitment, and has various effects on both the fairy and pixie's powers. The Winx and their pixies will need to begin the 'Bonding 101' course Alfea offers, learning how to adapt to the Bond. Faragonda tells Aisha that she hopes the princess would be willing to join the Winx for this, as she has been Bonded to Piff for some time now, and having her there might help the Winx in their lessons.

 

When Aisha reluctantly agrees, Faragonda takes the chance to present the third issue: a fast tracked training program for the girls, teaching them combat, both group and single, in an effort to get them ready for the attacks and retaliation Darkar will likely unleash upon them.

 

The group takes a few moments, just to be tired, they've just finished a week of fighting, and they don't want to do more, but they also understand the kind of trouble they've found themselves in, and agree to the classes.

 

Once they've left the office, the girls split up to contact their families and let them know: they aren't coming home for the holidays.

 

* * *

One of the first things Aisha does as pixie Bond mentor, is have Bloom sit down with both Lockette and Kiko and talk to them both, to let Kiko know that he is not being replaced, and that they are both very important to Bloom. She loves them both equally but different, and the duo decide do their best to get along.

 

* * *

 

Griselda meets the Winx, Aisha and their pixies in the courtyard the day after, and lays out the training schedule she's put together for the group.

 

It starts off harsh and doesn't get better, the group mortified to realise they can't get a single hit on Griselda, no matter what they try, and the head of discipline has banned Bloom from using the Dragon Flame she holds. (“If you need to resort to the Dragon Flame, it means you've already lost, and if it doesn't work, you have nothing else even comparable in your arsenal.”)

 

Every so often, Mirta joins the group for practice, though she still struggles with her fairy magic, so used to relying on the more negative powers she was raised to wield.

 

By the second week of training, the pixies begin to get involved, fighting alongside the fairies and using the their Bonds and newly discovered Bond abilities to help in combat. An interesting non-Bond ability the girls uncover, is _Bloom's_ ability to actually wield the Ring of Solaria.

 

Though the girls can all feel it isn't as connected with her as it is with Stella, the Ring seems to recognise something with in her. After one particularly gruelling training session, Tecna asks if Daphne might know anything about Bloom's implausible ability to wield the Ring.

 

This results in Bloom berating herself for forgetting about her sister, again, until Flora reminds Bloom she's not allowed out of the school anyway – a precaution based on her status as Vessel, and Darkar's history with her mother.

 

Musa suggests asking Faragonda, who is both 'hella old' and 'hella knowledgable.'

* * *

But not about this, as it turns out.

 

While Faragonda doesn't know why or how Bloom might be able to use the Ring outside Dragon Fire Vessel shenanigans, she does have an idea that might benefit Bloom and Daphne: the creation of a new Dragon Fire Temple.

 

During their time off from combat training, the Winx and Aisha and their pixies begin crafting a new 'temple' for Daphne to use as a tethering point, instead of the one at Roccaluce.

 

* * *

During his information gathering, Darkar attempts to probe the three schools, shocked (and pleased) to find Red Fountain more a pile of rubble than a school. Unfortunately, it means there are workers moving about the building at all hours, and he can't seem to find what he's looking for anyway.

 

Cloud Tower is like wise occupied, and Alfea is bustling.

 

Amidst the fairy populace, he spots the fairies who'd taken the pixies, and an older, vaguely familiar fairy. While it enrages him to realise this headmistress is in fact one of those responsible for his centuries long nap, Darkar chooses discretion for the time being, lurking about long enough to learn a few things, before withdrawing.

 

* * *

 

Training for the group hits a snag, a few days before the new term, things finally come to a head over it. Stella and Aisha have trouble working together, something not quite meshing, even more so than Aisha and the rest of the Winx.

 

What follows is a screaming match between the two princesses, as Aisha explains she doesn't want to get too close to the Winx because they'll leave her, everyone always leaves her alone again, Stella, meanwhile, begins ranting about Aisha flat out rejecting them, which stumbles into the fear of rejection Stella's been carrying for years.

 

Half an hour after the fight begins, Stella and Aisha finally wind down, tired and emotionally drained as they both express their desire to stay with the Winx, to be part of a group that will never leave them.

 

The other four step up, and assure the pair that they will never reject Stella for who she is, and Aisha will always be welcomed with them.

 

Teary eyed, Stella and Aisha finally accept what they've both been denying: they are accepted, wanted and no longer alone. Musa swears and the others just stare as light erupts on both Aisha and Stella's chests, forming into small charms.

 

The six girls freak out as they realise what has happened, Aisha and Stella have faced the mirror, faced themselves, and (taken the first steps to) overcome the doubts and fears hidden in their hearts.

 

Griselda, who has been watching the entire time with the seasoned eye of someone who's seen _many_ Charmix earned, waves them away when they ask to be allowed to cut out of training to officially make Aisha a member of the Winx.


	3. Week 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episode 207

A storm rolls in as the second week of their actual scheduled school vacation begins, and early in the morning, the Winx receive a message from Faragonda to meet her by Lake Roccaluce, where a mysterious monolith has appeared.

The girls question if it could be a trap by Darkar, the first real attack they've seen from the suspiciously quiet dark lord.

Deciding to trust Faragonda, the girls transform and fly out the window, pulling shields around themselves to protect against the heavy rainfall, their pixies tucked against their chests. (Because they refused to be left behind - 'but what if you need us?')

They arrive to find Faragonda sitting on the ground, in a rain coat. She greets them, sounding tired, and asks them to destroy the giant black pillar. After making sure Faragonda is alright, the girls go to town on the pillar, but their individual attacks don't even mark the surface.

They try in concert with their pixies, in different combinations, but it isn't until all twelve (both the fairies and the pixies) combine their powers along with the Ring of Solaria and the force of the Dragon Flame, that they finally do some damage.

The entire pillar is riddled with cracks, but shows no sign of crumbling. Panting hard, Stella comments that 'there must be an easier way to do this', to which Flora responds: 'maybe we should ask the lurker,' titling her head and using what hand signs they'd picked up during their training to give the girls the location of the unidentified party the Voice of Nature had told her about.

With only a series of looks, the girls plan, then spring into action.

A moment later, they have a man in custody.

A man who surrenders readily and applauds the girls on their abilities. Faragonda joins them a few seconds later, and introduces their new professor: Avalon.

('Wait, this was a test? No wonder we couldn't break that rock, we didn't even study.')

Faragonda and Avalon explain that while the six Winx all have tremendous power, there are some things that can't be overpowered into submission. Which is where Avalon's speciality, technical incantation, comes in.

Sometimes it's not about power (which the group clearly has in spades), it's a about finesse, making the right key for the lock, rather than using a sledge hammer to break down the door. Avalon repairs the monolith, and escorts everyone back to the school. The Winx got first crack at the monolith, the rest of the students get their turn over the next few days.

While the students who didn't stay during their vacation begin returning, the Winx' special training is cut back significantly, Griselda talking to the girls about burnout and plateauing when it comes to training. The group takes advantage of their new found time and hang out with Daphne by the lake, now that teacher supervision is available, watching as other students attempt to take down the monolith.

Bloom happily soaks up all the knowledge Daphne is willing to give her about their family, including the elder's explanation of her words during the Trix' invasion.

Daphne tells the story of one of their many-times great grand aunt, Nova, Fairy of the Solar Flame, who had left Domino to marry her beloved. A man named Aland, which has Stella gasping as she realises what Daphne's history lesson _means_. She turns to Bloom, excited as she finally understands the bond between them, why her magic had been so readily accepted by Bloom after she'd lost the Dragon Flame.

It takes a few moments for Stella to calm down enough to explain to the rest of the girls what was going on: Aland and Nova had been the king and queen of Solaria thousands and thousands of years prior.

If not for their compatible magics, it might not have mattered at all, but Bloom and Stella are _very distantly_ related. (The combination of Stella and Bloom's magic is almost identical to Nova's Solar Flame, which Daphne only knows because of a fragment left behind, part of a cultural tradition from Domino, that was held in a place called the Hall of Embers' Echoes, prior to the planet's destruction.) As the girls are calming down from the surprise, Stella startles again, laughing with mild hysteria as she realises the universe has an odd sense of humour.

Her friend, also named Nova, is the Fairy of Firelight, and the granddaughter of one of the few refugees who'd survived the Fall of Domino.

The news of _any_ survivors shocks Daphne, who asks for details, all the girls do their best to recall what they know, most of which is hearsay. Most of the survivors were already off-world when the siege occurred, travelling for personal reasons, though some were heading towards medical facilities, which the confuses the girls, until Daphne fills in the gaps.

The Fall _wasn't_ a single event, but a succession of two assaults, the first a siege, lead by the dark wizard Valtor, who had somehow come to possess a corrupted spark of the Dragon Fire. His attack had left Domino devastated, but still standing, and they would have recovered, had a coven known as the Ancestral Witches not chosen then to attack.

The girls can tell talking about the Fall causes Daphne emotional pain, and let her know she doesn't have to continue if she doesn't want to. Daphne sadly tells them that she can't even if she did want to, she wasn't there for the very end, she'd been trapped in her current state, too confused to even manifest her ghostly form or view the goings on around her until it was all over.

The girls do their best to comfort Daphne, but the elder fairy changes the subject to other things.

* * *

Away form the A-Plot, Faragonda has a meeting with four pixies, giving them small talismans and instructions for a plan B in case 'the worst' should happen.

* * *

As the week comes to a close, a large portion of the student body heads down to lake Roccaluce.

Even Daphne shows up to watch as professor Avalon destroys the pillar, and give a short lecture on technical incantations.

While the students are surprised at the ease with which Avalon destroyed the monolith, they're more surprised by Palladium's long over due return. He's back, healed, _and looking better than ever_.

They use his return as an excuse to throw a party, ~~and after Stella is talked out of a 'congrats on your new penis' banner,~~ the students decide to make it a 'welcome/welcome back' party for both Avalon and Palladium.

* * *

As the party winds down, Faragonda calls the Winx and Mirta to her office, where she and Griselda share some grim news: Darkar has finally made his move, breaking into Lightrock, and breaking out the Trix.

In less grim news, Faragonda has chosen to send the Winx as representatives of Alfea to the Re-opening of Red Fountain. They've distinguished themselves well during the siege of Alfea, and they have friends and part time teammates at Red Fountain, (and many of the older students who might otherwise be considered are once again out and about on trainee/apprenticeships).

Mirta will be going with the girls to act as liaison between the Winx and the representatives from Cloud Tower, who will also be attending.

Which means the girls will be given the first day of the first week of term off for the visit.

Stella spends the next two days using the group as dress up dolls while she figures out a way to dress them in outfits which say 'representatives of Alfea' while also paying homage to their personalities and home worlds.

Mirta and Aisha are the most overwhelmed; Aisha, because she's not used to having friends to dress up with, and Mirta, because she doesn't come from a background where she dresses up at all.

In the end, Stella comes up with seven variations of the same dress, all in their primary transformation colour, bearing small, for-aesthetic-only wings with the Alfea sigil embroidered in their gossamer fabric, with only minor changes in the cut from outfit to outfit.

('don't they look a little... uniform?'/'That's the idea, they are uniforms, which we look hot _and_ stylish in ;D .' )


	4. Week 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episodes 208-209

Since Avalon's class is both, technically an elective, and has so many fairies signed up for it, it is added to the schedule outside of normal class hours, in the big lecture hall, allowing everyone to attend without having to rip up everyone's pre-existing class schedules. (His first lecture is on weather magic, since it is considered to be The First technical charm in the Magical Dimension.)

This means Avalon's first _official_ act as a professor of Alfea, is driving Mirta and the Winx over to Red Fountain for the opening ceremony. (Palladium and the girls get in a little, light teasing about Avalon taking care of the girls and 'more importantly', the school bus, and is Avalon sure he's a good driver? Because Palladium's a great driver. (just light, fun, referencing that Palladium is usually the one to drive for field trips and such.) During the teasing, the girls notice Palladium's is a little bit flirty, and Avalon doesn't seem to mind.)

At Red Fountain the group meets up with Codatorta and Saladin, passing on the regards and well wishes of Alfea's staff and students. After a brief conversation, the fairies are escorted to their assigned seating by a young man Saladin introduces as his nephew, Helia. Avalon stays behind to talk with the other teachers.

On the way they find Sky, his team, and Diaspro, who has come as a representative of Eraklyon. The two groups engage in small talk as they head to the arena, where Diaspro waves off her assigned seating to sit with the Alfea group. As the boys head off to attend to other guests (after a series of goodbye kisses swapped between Brandon and Stella) the girls ask Diaspro if she's okay, remarking that she seems tired.

Diaspro automatically checks her make-up but the girls explain they meant an overall air of tiredness, which Diaspro explains is because she's been on the go since they'd last seen each other. Her family is basically head of the mining industry in the magical dimension, in addition to being responsible for the government of the continent of Isis on Eraklyon. The mining corporation has spent the last few weeks securing the raw materials for the rebuilding of Red Fountain and parts of Magix, a project which Diaspro has been overseeing personally.

She'd also been doing other 'government stuff' during that time, and when the girls raise objections, Diaspro explains that she's been acting outside her purview in their last few encounters, which has brought disfavour from the king, but because she herself is such an important political figure on Eraklyon, he can't outright punish her, especially since she's still his future daughter-in-law _as far as he's concerned_. (Taking care of the project was a way to get back into the king's good graces and help out the realm of Magix, while simultaneously improving Eraklyon's standing with the 'charity work' of supplying the rebuild.)

(Aisha and Stella share an awkward moment when they realise that maybe they should have been doing something similar to help out, but Diaspro reads them easily and reminds them that Eraklyon was one of the first responders, so their continued assistance had a more obvious political impact... plus _none_ of the other planets did much besides a bit of funding, which both their planets helped in, so they're all good on that front.)

Bloom admits she's kind of in awe at Diaspro's understanding of politics, and intimidated by the kind of work load she has, she asks the three princesses if that's normal for a princess. Mirta, Tecna, Musa and Flora make their interest in the topic known.

Stella and Aisha admit that their responsibilities aren't as heavy as Diaspro's, but that's because they're the sole heirs to their thrones, Diaspro is the heir to the [Duchy of Isis](https://alternativewinxcontinuity.tumblr.com/post/174905273765/history-of-eraklyon) and is (supposed to be) marrying in to the royal family, so she has different responsibilities.

Diaspro asks about Bloom's intense interest in the role of a princess, but the reply is cut off when Mirta is distracted by the representatives of Cloud Tower, calling out to her friend Lucy, who is amongst the group. Mirta wilts when Lucy glances up at her before turning her back with a sneer. The fairy group's attention redirects to comforting Mirta, until the event finally gets underway, Avalon finally rejoining the girls.

After a brief display by the Red Fountain students, Codatorta and Saladin step forward, giving a speech to welcome everyone to the grand reopening of Red Fountain ('now with extra fountain,'/'what?'/'You'll see,'/'Diaspro, you can't just-'/'shush, wait for it.') before he spreads his arms and the school begins to rumble. Saladin tells everyone to enjoy the ride, and seconds later, the school begins to lift into the air, rising until it is well above the trees, where it stops, floating in the sky.

The rumble and gush of water reaches their ears as eight large doors open, allowing waterfalls to erupt from the four cardinal points on the school's exterior. Some of the girls giggle as they understand Diaspro's comment, while Tecna's face lights up, and she begins talking to Diaspro about the material requirements for the kind of levitation/anti-grav devices the school would need to stay aloft. (This more than anything is what made Diaspro's job so hard, as the kind of quantity and quality for the Red Fountain project was far outside the standard used in other levitation/anti-grav devices and spells. (Because of the stability and long-term floating the project required/involved.))

* * *

As the displays and events continue on, a trio of young women wander about the premises, annoyed at the number of Red Fountain students that seemed to be sweeping the corridors. They spot one of the boys talking to an older man, and eavesdropping on the conversation, realise the 'guards' are really just there to give tours of the new facilities, and to stop visitors from getting lost.

Realising they aren't going to be able to do what they want without tripping over one of the students, the trio hide themselves in an empty classroom, one of the girls waving her hands to draw their three shadows together.

Where the shadows merge, it becomes darker than any shadow has a right to be, and an annoyed voice demands to know their progress.

The trio explain their problem, and request a distraction.

A distraction is promised, and the shadows return to normal, the trio begin to cast a scrying spell while they wait.

* * *

In the refurbished arena, a shadow falls over the crowd, followed shortly by an enormous monster with mouths for hands. Diaspro – who knows exactly what's on the agenda, because of her place in the restoration project and liaising with Sky – realises the monster is not part of the day's performances, and alerts the Winx. The eight fairies transform and join the specialists at fighting the monster.

While a good portion of the Red Fountain students help to evacuate the crowd, Saladin and Codatorta take a group of their best to guard a place hidden deep within the school, leaving Sky and his team in charge of the monster. (Timmy coordinates between several groups as they move around and deal with the problems that arise during the evacuation.)

The Winx and Mirta take the chance to test themselves, using the skills Griselda has taught them over the last few weeks, but the monster shrugs of energy attacks like they're nothing, and it won't stay still long enough for the specialists to land a hit. The monster's resistance to magic mean that even Avalon's technical spells do little to help, but he informs the students that there's no way to make something impervious to magic and physical assault, not truly, there will always be a weakness to one or the other, no matter how small.

It's Helia who give the group their chance to find out, when he appears on the field and manages to ensnare the monster with cords from his glove.

Taking the queue, Flora calls out to Aisha, who knows exactly what Flora wants, and while the fairy of nature drops to the ground, the fairy of water uses her special ability, morphix, to create physical ropes, pulling the monster to the ground while Flora's vines reach up to meet it while Helia retracts his ropes.

As the monster touches down, the earth of the arena floor surges up, encasing the monster's legs, and hardening into a durable stone. The girls spare a glance to realise Diaspro was responsible for the assist, while Tecna scans the creature, looking for a weak point.

She finds it, under the throat. While Tecna relays the weak point to the specialist, Musa hits the creature with percussive force, enough to knock it senseless.

The creature is large, and still upright, so – after they decide who's going to stab the monster – Brandon and Riven line up, gripping each other's wrists to provide a platform and boost for Sky to spring off of, leaving Mirta, Stella and Bloom to provide stepping stones up to the monsters throat by way of their magical shields.

Sky pierces the monster's weak spot easily, but the creature explodes with a loud bang, leaving behind a large cloud of darkness, which is slow to dissipate.

Sky is flung through the air, and caught by a pair of strong arms, he twists to find himself being held aloft by Avalon, who lowers them both to the ground, where he reunites with the others. Where Musa mentions she thought she heard crowing moving away from the epicentre of the explosion. Other students also mention that they thought they saw/heard something escaping through the cloud.

A moment later, Timmy gets in contact with the Specialists, saying he's lost contact with the group that went with Saladin.

There's only a moment of hesitation while the team tries to figure out how to handle everything, and Avalon volunteers to stay with the students and check for any other threats while the Winx, specialists, Mirta and Diaspro check on Saladin's team. (They are _all_ aware the Trix were freed by Darkar at this point, so it's not a large leap in logic to figure out what's going on, and the Winx have defeated the Trix before, so they _should_ be fine...)

The boys lead the way to a hall deep within Red Fountain, where a large set of scales rests on a short pedestal. All around the room are the guards of Red Fountain, frozen and unconscious. Saladin and Codatorta are nowhere to be seen.

There is, however, a large circle of open floor revealing a staircase going down. As the group approaches it, they're thrown back by a statically charged gust of wind. From within the sunken stairwell comes the sound of three females laughing, and a few seconds later, the Trix emerge, a oval object in Icy's hand.

The sheer force of the wind blast has knocked the group down, and many of them are winded from the impact of hitting the walls or pillars around the room.

Before anyone can gather their breath, darkness enshrouds the room (Riven swears he felt a hand brush against his cheek) and when it lifts, the Trix are gone.

Bloom and Flora rush into the room beneath, while the others get in contact with Timmy in the command centre and begin to defrost the guards.

The room at the bottom of the stairs holds Saladin and Codatorta, both alive, and awake, but weak and layered with frost and electrical burns. By one wall is a pixie, completely encased in ice.

While Flora tends to the teachers, Bloom begins defrosting the pixie.

* * *

In the command centre, with the headmistresses from Alfea and Cloud Tower as well as a few of their teachers, the Winx and Specialists listen and Saladin fills everyone in on the events of the vault.

And its contents: the Codex, part one of four.

There comes a chilling moment when Bloom tries to explain that the Trix were far more powerful than they should have been, that this wasn't _just_ a leap in power level, but several leaps past their old power level, which they shouldn't have had to begin with.

(When a person uses the Dragon Flame with out it being correctly tuned to them, they gain immense power, but as soon as the Flame is removed, they suffer a near total burn out. (or so Daphne had explained to Bloom.) The Trix should have been nearly powerless.)

Stella brings up the glowing jewellery she noticed the Trix wearing, and Griffin goes very still, and inexplicably more pale than she already is.

The headmistress asks for a picture if they have one, and Bloom (with Stella's help) sketches out the Trix with their new accessories.

Grimly, Griffin tells the group about a _theoretical_ charm, known as a 'Gloomix.' That since witches couldn't achieve the same kind of self growth that fairies did by sheer virtue or the nature of their crafts, they couldn't obtain a Charmix.

What they could do, _in theory_ , was steal a Charmix from a fairy of compatible magic, and corrupt it into a Gloomix, using it's power to boost their own. But for the kind of power boost they had witnessed, it would have taken more than just a stolen Charmix. It would have taken an immensely powerful magical user, and the complete theft of the victims' magic. (which means their lives as well.)

* * *

In Darkar's lair, the Trix hand over the first piece of the Codex, and detransform, falling limp and exhausted on the floor. Distracted by the Codex, Darkar absent mindedly summons some minions to carry the witches to their private rooms.

(The Gloomix doesn't need to come with side effects, for all of it's evil creation methods, it doesn't have to take a toll on the wearer, but Darkar knows these witches, and he needs them under thumb for the time being, and so they believe the Gloomix will come with a price until Darkar can get what he's after and 'complete' the corrupted charms.)

* * *

As the week marches on, Cloud Tower and Alfea are on high alert, waiting for the Trix to come for their piece of the Codex. Faragonda holds a special school assembly to explain to the students what is going on.

With the students worried things will end up like the siege, Palladium takes the time to teach the students the 'plasma bolt', which is normally a spell only taught to those pursuing a more combat heavy career.

Griselda likewise picks up training, adding a few extra classes where she can to help teach the girls what they need to know.

A handful of girls decide to transfer to schools not in the firing line, and Faragonda makes sure they get into good schools with the option to return to Alfea at any point in the future.


	5. Week 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episodes 217-218, 211

Darkar and the Trix go quiet again, for which the Winx are grateful, and they try to focus on school work, and slowly building Daphne's 'shrine' so the older fairy can come and go from the school.

The headmistresses of Alfea and Cloud Tower, decide to take advantage of the apparent lull in activity, and swap several of their students for a few days, the Winx, the pixies and Mirta heading back to Cloud Tower, where they get a crash course in witch magic, and how to power themselves with negative emotions.

Stella naturally fails to create an orb of darkness, being a fairy of light, even her most intense emotions can't create such a sphere. Instead, the solar fairy creates a small ball of _**intense**_ light that causes really bad sunburn on anyone too close, as well as setting a few chair alight.

Musa on the other hand, does scarily well at the orb of darkness, and the Winx try to talk to her about it after classes.

* * *

Sitting in a secluded part of the school, Musa admits her father has been trying to pull her out of Alfea. She and her father have been somewhat at odds ever since Musa's mother died. They try their best, but sometimes...

With the siege, and more recently, with Darkar's return, Musa's dad is scared his daughter will be hurt, or worse, killed.

Musa talks about how she understands where her dad is coming from, and that she's scared as well, but at the same time, being with the Winx is where she feels accepted, where she feels she was always meant to be.

Her father thinks she's chasing after her mother's footsteps, but Musa is chasing her own path, it just happens to run alongside her mother's in places. She's scared her father will reject her if she doesn't leave the school, that the space between them will become too much, and they'll never manage to bridge the gap, but she feels in her soul that she belongs with the Winx.

The girls resolve to help Musa talk to her father, to do everything they can to support her, and help her repair the relationship.

Just as importantly, they swear to be there for her no matter what happens, and that she'll never lose them, regardless of whether she stays or goes.

For a split second as she's taking in the groups resolve and strengthening her own, Musa feels something welling up, but it's gone as quickly as it came. Musa brushes it off as turbulent emotions.

* * *

Elsewhere in Cloud Tower, Mirta is having a talk with Lucy, who has been almost hostile in her pursuit of ignoring Mirta since the former witch returned. Their conversation turns to raised voices and flung accusations as Lucy berates Mirta for _abandoning_ her. After all they'd been through, side by side, Mirta had just 'up and left Lucy for some lame ass fairies.'

Realising the crux of the issue, Mirta assures Lucy that just because Mirta is a fairy now, doesn't mean that she's abandoning Lucy, that Mirta still wants Lucy to be part of her life, and that she can't even imagine her life without the witch.

Mirta admits to being a bit scared by everything that's happened, and keeps happening, and that she'd like Lucy's support as she learns how to be a fairy, that she'd like to share her journey of becoming a fairy _with_ Lucy, as much as the witch will let her.

Now that they're no longer yelling, the duo have a long heart-to-heart about being together and apart, and what they mean to each other, and how Mirta is reluctant to fully embrace her new fairy nature without Lucy on her side.

Lucy realises that Mirta won't abandon her, even after the horrible way she's behaved, and promises to do better, to be better.

The girls reconcile and Mirta passes the last hurdle she'd unwittingly set herself on the way to her powers, gaining her Charmix.

Mirta, having learned about the Charmix when Aisha and Stella gained theirs, explains to Lucy what gaining a Charmix means, and the witch finally and truly realises how _important_ she is to Mirta.

The duo celebrate together and talk about their future.

* * *

When the Fairies finally leave Cloud Tower, they do so with lots of good byes, and several genuine 'I'll miss you.' The short lived student transfer doing its job and bringing the students of the two schools closer together, creating real friendships between the schools.

The fairies leave the school a little later than planned because of all the goodbyes, but eventually they soar across the forest that separates them from Alfea.

A fair way out from Cloud Tower, the pixies begin to swerve off, heading to somewhere else. The fairies act quickly and the pixies seem confused by their sudden detour. It happens several times during the flight, and after the third time, the pixies admit to feeling incredibly homesick.

Realising their sudden onset homesickness is a bit odd, the fairies carry their pixies the rest of the way to Alfea, only for the pixies to become _manic_ in their desire to return home.

The girls call ahead, one of the seniors meet the girls part way, dousing the pixies in fairy dust, which seems to take the edge off, but doesn't entirely defeat the feeling of homesickness, which builds again quickly.

The senior theorises that the pixies are under a spell, but not necessarily one of a dark nature. She puts forth it may be an emotional 'enhancement' spell, occasionally used in psych work, to help people with mood disorders.

They get the pixies back to Alfea, where the senior assists several teachers and upper level students in breaking the spell completely.

The Winx watch on in worry as their pixies are seen to, and Faragonda calls Griffin, since the facts of the spell point to a very worrisome origin.

Griffin calls back a short time later to confirm Faragonda's fear: the Codex of Cloud Tower is gone, and its guardian pixie frozen. The headmistresses try to figure out how the Trix could have found the Codex so easily, until they come to the conclusion: the Trix were seniors who spent a lot of time ferreting out the secrets of Cloud Tower in their pursuit of power, and while they may not have known what it was at the time, they likely knew there was a pixie room in the building, and with Darkar's aid, put two and two together.

They hadn't needed to send guards running to protect the site like they had at Red Fountain, they just needed enough of a distraction to slip in and out. A distraction the headmistresses themselves provided with the student swap.

Casting what was effectively a homesickness spell on the pixies was no doubt a crime of opportunity.

Faragonda informs the Winx later, and they spend some time trying to figure out when and how the Trix got close enough to spell the pixies, but they all draw blanks. If they'd tried during the goodbyes, someone would have notice students who weren't who they said they were, surely?

Tecna brings up the idea that perhaps hiding such valuable artefacts in _schools_ is not the best of ideas.

Faragonda readily agrees, before explaining the artefact in question has specific magical inclinations which mean the schools and the fairy village are the best place to hide them. Likewise, many of the other artefacts each of the schools hide, belong to the schools, either created for or by them, and were part of the curriculum at some point in time, and part of the historical culture of each school.

While having them at the schools was a normally only a little dangerous, having them elsewhere was more dangerous, and by the time anyone realised they should transfer an artefact, it was usually too late to do so with out risking it being stolen by the very people they were trying to hide it from.


	6. Week 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episodes 212-213, (Partial 214), 215

With two out of four magical macguffins missing, The Winx convince a few of the older students to help them train after classes. One of the students wants them to focus on thinking outside the square, using what they know from a sideways perspective.

She takes them down to the Magical Reality Chamber and sends them in, telling them to trying finding new ways to combine their powers, every trick they have in their arsenal, is one step further away from defeat.

Plus it's a great way to learn things you didn't know about your abilities.

With the pixies watching from the control room, the older student boots up the MRC.

The Winx are faced with an unusual, and somewhat hostile world, their enemy though, is a single large beast. The girls begin by flinging magic at it, but the monster only grows in size.

They dodge its attacks while they strategize, coming up with an idea that might work. Remembering what they'd been told about magical and physical immunities rarely overlapping, the girls swap in and out, distracting the monster while the build a titan of their own to beat the monster in combat.

Aisha crafts the body's base out of morphix, Flora gives it a skeletal system of wood and vines, adding in some hair just because it happened that way. Stella gives it eyes to see, Tecna and Bloom give it a brain and free will/intuition, and then Musa steps in.

The fairy of music gives the titan the ability to hear and speak, but Musa can also hear discord in their titan's being. She steps up and finds a way to _harmonize_ the various magics, so the titan doesn't fall apart.

Once complete, the titan goes on the offensive and beats the monster soundly, ending the simulation.

The older student runs the simulation applauds them, then asks what they plan to do with their new friend, since the titan hasn't dissolved. Uncertain, the group calls down Faragonda, who takes several moments to be flabbergasted by what the girls have done, creating an artificial, magical life form. (not unheard of, but not typically first year magic, even by accident.)

The titan, being both sentient and sapient, is alive, and none of the fairies want to kill it/her, so Faragonda offers to let the titan stick around and figure out what she wants to do.

(The titan later takes up the name Titania, and can often be seen playing with Kiko and the pixies, or helping Knut maintain the grounds around Alfea.)

* * *

 

Later in the week, Bloom finds Faragonda and talks to her about the break in at her mother's flower shop several weeks prior. Vanessa has gotten in contact with Bloom because a court date is coming up. Bloom is hoping to get the day off to be with her mother for it. Faragonda allows it, as long as Bloom doesn't go alone.

(Bloom mentions Earth's/California's truancy laws, and Faragonda writes up several 'day passes' for Bloom and the Winx.)

Musa and Tecna decline going, mentioning they've been talking with some people from Magix and the other schools, and have decided to help out with the concert the Magix council wants to host, to celebrate the last of the repairs in the city. (things go a lot faster with magical assistance.)

Aisha volunteers her assistance with the concert, and Bloom wishes them luck. Stella says she would help, but she wants to support Bloom, the girls agree Stella can step in later, and that supporting their friend is important too. Flora chooses to go with Bloom and Stella to Earth. The pixies all choose to stick with their respective fairies.

* * *

 

On Earth, the trio of fairies spend the day with Vanessa, who is thrilled to meet Flora, a fellow plant lover. The girls are confused to realise Vanessa and Mike (who is also there to support his wife during the trial) can't see the pixies, until Stella gives them 'clarity of vision', an ability she learnt from her mother, who comes from a line of seers.

Random children they pass though, seem to have no trouble seeing the pixies, and the girls file that away to think about later.

* * *

 

In Magix, the group of students and council members for Magix meet to discuss the concert. During the repairs, the governing body of Magix took the opportunity to upgrade some infrastructure, including an outdoor theatre, and they'd like to open it with a concert to commemorate the lost, and celebrate moving forward.

The group discus some things they'd like to do for the concert, and move their meeting to the new amphitheatre, to get a feel for the space.

Unbeknownst to the group, Stormy has grown bored waiting around for Darkar and Icy to come up with a new plan for finding the pixie village, (since he, apparently, has a plan already in play for Alfea) and has gone out by herself to wreak some havoc.

She stumble across the concert group in Magix, and decides to rain on their parade by summoning up a destructive storm.

At first, the group don't pay much attention to the sudden rain, beyond noting the oddly sudden change in the weather. It's not until it gets intense enough to start pulling signs from their foundations that someone realises the storm is _very_ localised.

By this time, the wind is too much for any of them to fly through, and they can't find the source of the storm, so Musa suggests weather magic, reminding the other fairies of their first lecture with Avalon.

Musa summons a small hand drum, sets a beat and starts dancing, Aisha and Tecna falling into step, with the other Alfea students present joining in soon after. As the weather starts to lose intensity, the witches, heroes and even the council members begin to copy the fairies movements. Soon the storm begins to die down, then fall apart.

With the storm dissipated, Stormy appears before them, and in a fit of rage, hurls a bolt of lighting at the group, but Musa bring her drum up and strikes it, letting loose an unbelievable crash like thunder, causing the lightning to explode on itself midstrike, flinging the Trix back through the sky.

With a snarl she disappears, and everyone turns to Musa, who seems shocked at what she's just done. When asked how she did that, Musa can only shake her head and admit that she doesn't know, that she just felt 'very powerful in that moment.'

Riven, who was there to pilot the Red Fountain students, and had been the first of the heroes to join in, posits that as the fairy of music, maybe she'd been empowered by the 'anti-rain dance' and its accompanying song, since they'd all been acting in concert to the music Musa had provided on the drum. The group agree that's about as likely as any other explanation, and the very grateful council members get the group back on track for the concert, as soon as they put out an alert for Stormy with the local law enforcement.

* * *

 

On Earth, after the trial wraps up, Mike and Vanessa take the trio of fairies and their pixies out for pizza, and ask the girls how school has been going. They are aware of the siege and Darkar, thanks to phone calls with Bloom, but hearing it in person makes it more real.

Bloom also, hesitantly and for the first time, tells her parents about Daphne and their shared parentage. She begins rambling as she tries to explain, and she just keeps talking trying to get it all out, and then a secret slips out amidst the verbal vomit.

Bloom is scared and confused and worried and _lost_. Her sense of identity has taken a hit, and between Bloom Peters, Earth girl, and Pyra, lost princess of Domino, she isn't sure who she is any more. Part of her wants to embrace her lost heritage, but part of her is afraid embracing it will mean loosing her Earth identity, her Earth family.

Her parents comfort her immediately, letting her know that no matter what, she will always be part of their family, and that Daphne, ghostly or otherwise, is welcome as well, they won't make her choose.

Flora tells Bloom, that she has a few truths about her: Bloom is a kind person, a great leader, and an artistic soul, but before anything else, she is their friend, she just needs to find something about herself that doesn't change, and start from there, no matter how long it takes, they'll be there while she figures herself out.

Stella agrees completely, pressing herself bodily and magically against Bloom in a hug that lets the fire fairy _feel_ the love and support Stella had for her.

Surrounded by their love, Bloom finds peace within herself, a certainty of self she'd lost somewhere along the way.

Her magic surges and blossoms, and her Charmix materialises.

Which leads to a whole new round of celebration. (after a lengthy explanation of fairy levels and transformations and such, and why this was such a big deal.)

* * *

 

That night, back at Alfea, the group catches up, and Bloom decides she'll begin writing and drawing a 'memoir' of sorts for her parents, so they can share in the adventures she's had.

In the meantime, the girls talk about the concert for Magix.

* * *

 

Given the reason for the concert, the heads of the schools allow the students to have half days in order to be ready for the weekend, since the Magix council want the concert to take place as soon as possible, to show the Magical Dimension they're back on their feet.

Riven makes an effort to help behind the scenes, as part of his 'I need to unlearn how to be an arsehole' self improvement project. He and Musa discover they get along pretty well, having quite a few things in common, like the fact they both have scholarships to their respective schools.

Musa, having heard the whole story of 'why Riven is the way he is', has helped come up with a few tricks (mostly specific hand signs) so that the group (the Winx and Specialists) can tell Riven he's being an arsehole, without actually being confrontational.

(The most used hand sign is 'run that by me again,' which is for moments when Riven says something super offensive or just outright annoying, and the group want to be sure he knows what he said wrong, and that he meant it. Most of the time it turns out he's just worded something badly and it's come out ruder than he intended. It goes a long way to helping group unity, and they find themselves using the signs for other team members, not just Riven.)

For the closing act, Musa and a few other students, and volunteers from Magix, write a song about the unity between the very different groups.

Stella helps organise the wardrobes, Tecna runs a team in charge of the electronics, and Aisha gets right into helping the dancers, one of whom is Mirta. (Musa has been unanimously voted In Charge of the project as their resident Fairy of Music, but also as the only person who has any experience in setting up a concert from scratch.) Bloom and Flora find places and people to help out amidst the preparations.

* * *

 

The evening of the concert arrives, all the performers are nervous, they've done the best they could in the time they had, and they all plan to give it their all.

Musa has an additional reason to be nervous however, she's invited her father to come watch the performance. Musa is trying to show her father how much music means to her, not just because of her mother, but because music is who she is.

When the concert starts though, Musa and the other performers set their worries aside so they can give their best possible performances.

The show gets off to a great starts, all the acts go flawlessly, but as the evening progresses, dark clouds begin to gather over head, and thunder rumbles across the sky. When Musa steps on stage during the later half of the concert, a bolt of lightning strikes the stage, causing several of the lights and speakers to explode. Musa is flung across the stage, and in the crowd, her friends are scared, but the fairy of music gets back up quickly.

From the darkness overhead, Stormy descends, her Gloomix glowing an unusually bright, and menacing red.

Stormy calls Musa out for what happened a few days prior, saying that how ever Musa managed to fight her off, it won't happen again. Amongst the crowd, in strategic locations for just this scenario, fairies, witches and wizards bring up shields to protect the crowd. With the number of civilians in the area, there aren't a lot of people free to combat Stormy. Musa loudly declares that she beat Stormy before, and she can do it again.

Stormy proceeds to trounce her for several minutes before Riven manages to get close enough to Mirta to call out a plan to her. Mirta smirks and casts illusions all throughout the crowd, lyrics and the music for their concert's final song.

The Winx, and the members of the concert who were there for the last confrontation, realise what Riven is planning, and start singing, making music with hands and feet and instruments, and focusing on Musa. As the rest of the crowd looks at the music makers and the lyrics in confusion, Riven sprints through the masses, calling out for people to sing, that Musa if the Fairy of Music.

An older man vaults onto the stage and settles himself down in front of the piano, joining the song. At the back of the crown, a young woman with a long, pale blonde ponytail summons a small orchestra of instruments and helps out as well. (spoiler alert, it's Galatea.)

Musa feels the power swelling up inside her, and quickly turns the tide of battle.

Stormy is enraged as she is beaten back _again_ , by the fairy, and attempts to summon a powerful lightning elemental.

On stage the man at the piano calls out in fear for Musa, who turns to him and asks for him to trust her, because this is who she is.

They share a moment as he agrees, and Musa feels like she's pushed through an obstacle she didn't even realise she was trying to overcome. A bright light flares on her chest and around her waist as her Charmix finally manifests, multiplying her powers even further.

She wraps Stormy in a bubble of percussive force, the elemental she was attempting to call falls to pieces, and the witch's ears start to bleed, her screams swallowed up by Musa's unrelenting display of power.

With no other recourse, Stormy teleports out.

The crowd cheers, and despite the near disaster, the show goes on, with even more energy than before.

(At Alfea, the students who stayed at the school and watched the concert on tv all break out into cheers as well. In the Headmistress's office, Faragonda and Griselda share a look and break out their celebratory alcohol for a single victory shot each... before writing up a pardon for Musa for classes since the girl will be recovering from her power boost for a few days. (The more a fairy boosts her powers above her normal level, the longer she has to sleep it off.))

Musa rides the high until the last song, which everyone sings along to now that they know the words. Musa has just enough time after the final curtain call to talk to her dad (the man at the piano) before she passes out.

Musa's dad sees his daughter and her friends back to Alfea, before he returns home to Melody.


	7. Week 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episodes: Partial (214,220,223)

Musa doesn't make much progress in the 'staying awake for longer than five minutes at a time' department until the second day of classes. She doesn't actually make it back to classes until the fourth day, and she's still on 'light duties' as far as magic is concerned, for a few more days.

The week looks set to be a quiet one, until Sky and Brandon have to cancel their double date with Bloom and Stella.

Diaspro has been kidnapped.

After getting permission from Faragonda, Bloom, Stella, and Flora (who was standing right there when they got the call) head off to Eraklyon by way of the Ring of Solaria. The fairy trio arrive at the palace in their dresses from the welcome back party at the start of the school year, and await an audience with the royals.

Sky and Brandon are surprised to see the trio, but Stella quickly steps in and shows off her royal upbringing, talking the king into allowing the girls to help look for Diaspro.

* * *

In a cave, tied to a stalagmite, and guarded by a dog, Diaspro tries to focus past the magic dampening drug that has been forcibly pumped into her system.

* * *

Avalon and Palladium are on a gathering expedition in the forest (which may also be a date), Palladium stops to pick a feisty flower and Avalon is distracted by _something_ in the bushes. When he moves closer to investigate, he's surprised by a plant which spits a noxious goo directly into his eyes.

Palladium is by his side right away, but unable to help as Avalon begins mild convulsions. Palladium gets in contact with Alfea immediately, but the other teachers are horrified to realise the plant that gooed Avalon in an incredibly rare, incredibly venomous vine which shouldn't be in the forest.

And the goo has only one known cure.

A small flower which grows only in the (long term and highly concentrated) presence of pixies.

Faragonda agrees to get in contact with the pixies, and have one of them meet Palladium half way with the antidote, since Avalon doesn't have much time.

* * *

The rescue team (out of their dresses, and in practical search and rescue clothing) start with Diaspro's last known location, questioning any people who may have been the last to see her, they quickly find themselves following a lead into the forests of Eraklyon.

Here, Flora takes over, communing with the forest for information, the group makes rapid progress in following the trail of the kidnappers.

Until they find themselves confronted by a group calling themselves the Patchamen. The techno-ninjas attack after a brief spiel about their dedication to doing good, and the rescue team responds in kind.

Between Flora's ability to turn the terrain against them, Stella and Bloom blinding their foes and shielding their allies in turn, and Sky and Brandon's martial prowess, the rescue team manages to hold their own long enough to make themselves more trouble than they're worth.

The Patchamen retreat, vowing the team won't be rescuing 'the evil and wicked Diaspro.'

Stunned over the accusation, ('I mean she's a little bitchy, but I don't know if I'd call her 'evil and wicked'')and realising they need more of a plan than just 'show up at the kidnapper's lair', the group begins to plan, based on the enemies they'd seen, and the knowledge that a local warlord – Yoshinoya – was most likely behind the kidnapping.

* * *

The pixie Livy meets Palladium with a supply of the flowers, and together the duo make a poultice to apply to Avalon's face. In the trees, unseen by the pair, Darkar's servant Kerbog lingers.

* * *

In Darkar's lair, Icy and Darcy stand over a 3D map of the forest, several points are marked in the air above it. These points are the places the pixies succumbed to the homesickness spell, and the direction they began to travel in. Using Kerbog's location as a final point of data, Darcy extends the short lines until they connect.

Darkar laughs, pleased, and sends the duo to the location Darcy has just marked. (theoretically, the pixie village, or at least an area close enough to start looking rather than sweeping the entire forest.)

Stormy, still in trouble for the concert, remains behind and seethes.

* * *

In their cave hideout, the Patchamen try to figure out who the people coming for Diaspro are, and why they'd bother if the things they'd been told about the princess was true. After all, someone that awful wouldn't be missed, right?

One of the Patchamen approaches Diaspro, and begins talking about justice. Diaspro, being under the influence of anti-magic substances which cause a drunken like state, butts in with 'I'm not scared of your justice, I'm rich', which seems like a suitable response until she's actually said it.

The Patchamen are as confused by her declaration as she is, but take it as a sign that she's really that horrid.

* * *

Just outside the stronghold of Yoshinya, Stella and Brandon appear in a small flash of light. The duo have teleported in to find proof of Yoshinoya's involvement in the kidnapping. (Stella since she's the only one who can teleport long distance, and Brandon because he's been there before.)

(The boys explained during the planning, that when they'd first swapped identities, it had actually been before they'd started at Red Fountain, back when Yoshinoya was going after Sky. The ruse had worked and Brandon had been captured in Sky's place, and thankfully had managed to break out on his own before anything too bad could happen.

Yoshinoya had found out of course, and the swap was made pointless, from a safety point of view.

But Sky had been intrigued by the idea of being treated like a normal guy, and the duo kept it up at Red Fountain, until the Day of the Royals when the girls figured out what was going on, and the king spilled the secret because he didn't realise they'd kept up the ruse.)

The pair sneak through the fortress, slipping in and out of shadows, trying to stay focused on the mission rather than each other.

In Yoshinoya's office they find a safe, which Brandon manages to open. (“what's wrong princess? Worried I'll break into your safe?”/”What makes you think I don't want you to?”) Inside the couple find several documents illustrating the plan surrounding Diaspro's kidnapping.

Brandon seems extra excited, since the safe also contains some paperwork covering illegal operations Yoshinoya's been running. He leaves those behind, but takes pictures of as many as he can.

It turns out, the reason Yoshinoya has been allow to continue on as he has, is because there has never been enough proof of his involvement to convict him without the crown being seen as 'acting in the extreme' and 'disregarding the law'.

The pair don't bother finding their way out again, Stella simply direct teleports to Bloom, after the pair have put everything but the kidnapping plans, back where they found them.

* * *

Avalon recovers and he, Palladium and Livy make their way back to Alfea, not realising that Icy and Darcy are closing in on the Pixie Village.

* * *

By the time Stella and Brandon return, the group has located the Patchmen's lair, and Flora has put together a few quick 'potion bombs' with the local plant life, and whatever the others had in their pockets. The team hit the base, using the potion bombs to create hyper-sticky slime to trap the Patchmen before the techno-ninjas know they're there.

As the ninjas struggle and shout, Stella hits them with a silencing spell, so Brandon can lay out the cold, hard facts: the Patchamen have been lied to and are working for the bad guy.

They show the ninjas the paper work they've found, and the group talks about all the good work Diaspro has done, including running herself ragged to help with the repairs on Magix.

Sky gets his crown-prince on, and lays down The Law, telling the Patchamen to get off his planet, and to do their Dragon-damned research in the future.

The group don't release the ninjas until they have Diaspro free from her bonds, and have made sure she'll recover from the drug in her system.

The two groups part ways and the rescue team returns to the capital with Diaspro, where her parents are waiting anxiously for news.

King Erandor is impressed with the rescue team, and Sky takes the opportunity to introduce Bloom to his parents. (The duo have been testing the waters in terms of dating in the short bursts of free time they've had since the school break ended.)

While Diaspro's parents were aware the engagement had been 'postponed pending re-evaluation', they hadn't realised it was because Sky was in a tentative relationship with someone else.

Erandor is not happy about the break up, which Sky had tried to tell him about weeks ago, but allows the couple to have a chance to see if they'd work out, especially after Stella – Princess of Solaria – claims ancestry with Bloom. (Since Domino is _gone_ , Bloom refuses to use her title as princess of Domino to gain favour with other royals.)

* * *

The Winx trio want to stay until Diaspro is cognizant, but a call from Alfea has them returning to the school, leaving their well wishes with the boys.

* * *

The girls teleport in to find the rest of the Winx, their pixies, and two of the seniors on campus waiting for them. Flora recognises the seniors as two of the other 'plant based' fairies at Alfea. The seniors give the trio a run down of what they know: Pixie Village was attacked, their Codex stolen, and their homes damaged.

That damage has unfortunately affected the heart of their village: the Life Blossom, a shoot from the Tree Of Life which gives birth to the pixies.

The Winx, pixies, and seniors will be heading over to the village now that they don't need to keep it hidden, to see if they can help heal the Blossom.

The seniors are part of Alfea's environmental rehab track, and know a lot about healing the environment, and they believe that Flora, as Fairy of Nature, and as a fairy with a pixie Bond, may be instrumental in healing the damage done to the Life Blossom.

The rest of the Winx are going for moral support and in case extra power is needed. (Also Aisha is known to the pixies already, and can vouch for the fairies.)

On the way to the village, Livy introduces herself to the group.

* * *

The pixies are grateful for the help Alfea has sent, and glad to see Aisha again too. The team gets to work examining the Blossom, to figure out what the damage is and how to fix it. The seniors determine Flora will be the best chance the Blossom has at recovery, but she has some doubts. The older students give her some time to collect herself and decide if she wants to give it a try. She's not their _only_ option, just the best on hand.

The Winx try to give Flora a pep talk, but she gently rebuffs them, asking for a few moments alone.

She gets several before Tecna wanders over to her and has a go at moral support. Tecna talks about statistics and likelihoods and shown ability, sounding certain Flora will be able to heal the Blossom.

Flora snaps at Tecna, because she's jealous of how _sure_ and _confidant_ Tecna always seems to be, she tells Tecna she would like to be as sure as the Fairy of Technology, but she just _isn't_.

Flora lays out all the little doubts she has about herself, being surrounded by her friends who all seem so much _more_ than a simple plant fairy from the planet of plant fairies.

Tecna takes a moment, and tells Flora about the jealousy she's been feeling, that being from Zenith, being a technology fairy makes it difficult for her to express emotions the way the others seem to be able to, as easy as breathing. Tecna talks about the doubts and fears she has, that as someone who is so emotionally muted, she won't be able to reach the kind of levels Flora and their friends inevitably will, that she'll be left behind.

Tecna talks about her difficulty expressing her emotions, and her desire to feel _more_ , to feel freely, and about her fear of moving away from the logical fields of her magic into the more confusing abstracts that seem to tinge everything else in the Magical Dimension.

Flora slips her hand into Tecna's and offers out a tendril of her organic magic, shyly, Tecna accepts, and the two let their magic communicate, to fill in the space they can't with inadequate words.

They find their magics are more compatible than they'd thought, that organic isn't as abstract and scary as Tecna thought, and Flora sees with Tecna's certainty, that she is not somehow _less_ than their friends.

Warmth blossoms through them both, unfolding in patterns, and blooming on their chests.

The rest of the Winx give up on pretending to not be watching when the two Charmix materialise, their cheers bringing the seniors and half the pixie village running. Chatta and Digit are very excited about their fairies' milestones.

Tecna and Flora share a long hug, and a promise to each other to move beyond their fears, together with their friends.

Then Flora heals the Life Blossom.

(Her magic has fresh memory of Tecna's, and the first pixie born of the rejuvenated Life Blossom, is the Pixie of Solar Punk.)


	8. Week 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episodes: 219, (partial 223), 224-226

As the week starts up, things appear to be back to normal for the time being, but Avalon seems melancholy. Bloom reaches out him after one of his classes, her primary excuse is that she wants to ask about technical incantations that might help the girls get Daphne's 'temple' up and running.

Avalon expresses an interest in the project, and the pair talk about it on the way to dinner in the school dining hall.

Bloom waits for just the right moment, and asks what has him so down. Avalon is reluctant to add his troubles to Bloom's burdens, but after some gentle prodding, admits that he's disappointing with himself for his part in the attack on the pixie village, blaming himself for the loss of the pixie's part of the Codex, and the near loss of the Life Blossom. He reasons that since the village was attacked so soon after a pixie left to help him, the two events were directly related.

Bloom points out that it wasn't really his fault, and while the Codex was missing, Flora had managed to save the Blossom. Before Avalon can deny her logic, she presses on, reminding him that Darkar is, ~~basically Satan~~ as far as anyone can tell, the Vessel of the 'original evil'. Darkar is super old, and really bad, and he would have found a way, they should all just be thankful things turned out as well as they did.

Avalon perks up and remarks on Flora and Tecna earning their Charmix, Bloom proudly tells him their entire group is now made up of Charmix level fairies. She's really proud of her friends, and so glad they all work so well together.

Avalon admits the Winx do seem to be a fairy circle to watch, and that he's (while sorry for the circumstances that brought him to Alfea) pleased to be helping to teach such fine young fairies.

(Bloom makes a sly comment about the faculty being quite nice to be around too after Palladium waves Avalon over to their seats at the staff table. Avalon blushes faintly and admits that the other faculty have certainly been welcoming. Bloom chuckles and) the duo part ways.

Avalon drops by the Winx dorm to go over the 'temple' they have thus far, and offers several pointers for the type of technical spell they're thinking of using to help build it.

* * *

As the week wears on, Bloom starts to get a little twitchy. Most of the students do, since their school is the only protection between Darkar and the final piece of the Codex. The Winx accidentally talk about Bloom behind her back, intending to talk about how _her_ 'twitchy' seems to be... not the same as everyone else's somehow.

Bloom catches them in the act and snaps at them, the group apologises, and Bloom backs down, seeming to deflate. She admits she's been having trouble sleeping properly the past few days, and that she's really worried about Darkar's plans.

She's particularly worried because Daphne, Griselda and Faragonda have all told her that Darkar had once kidnapped Bloom's biological mother, Miriam, and she was starting to wonder if he'd try to take _Bloom_ this time. She says being the Vessel of the Dragon Fire sounds cool, but in practice it's a lot of hassle.

The group commiserate and have a sleepover in the main room of their dorm.

During the party, Flora notices Kiko behaving oddly towards Bloom, and when she mentions it to Chatta, the pixie mentions Lockette was acting weirdly (almost subconsciously) distant towards her fairy.

The pair can't figure out what could be causing it, and they can't say for definite that something is  _ wrong _ , and they certainly can't prove it, so they let the matter go for the time being.

The 'party' winds down pretty quickly, since they still have a day of school left in the week, and the fairies, pixies and lone rabbit settle in for the night. Stella hides a frown as she notices Lockette bunking down with Amore, and Kiko picking a spot with Flora rather than Bloom.

She tries to brush it off as the two companions picking up on Bloom's stress and trying to give her space, but something pings in the back of Stella's mind.

* * *

Just after midnight, Bloom seemingly gives up on tossing and turning, and gets up. A bleary eyed Flora asks what's going on, and Bloom tells her she's just going for a walk. Half asleep, it takes Flora almost ten minutes to remember what happened the last time Bloom went for a late night 'stress walk'.

She wakes the others quickly, and the group rushes out to look for their friend.

Aisha and Tecna find Bloom in the mirrored corridor outside of the hidden archive, (one of the secret rooms in Alfea that every student knows about) an oblong object clutched in one hand.

At least, they _think_ it's Bloom.

She's in her fairy form, but her wings look like they've been tattooed with tar, and her clothes are a deep maroon that Aisha recognises as the colour of Darkar's carapace. Before the fairies can do anything, the being with their friend's face slams them into one of the mirrors in the hall.

The duo aren't sure if they black out, or if Bloom simply vanishes, because by the time they pull themselves upright, the maybe-Bloom, is gone.

* * *

An emergency assembly is held, the students arriving in only minutes from their dorms, none of them have bothered to change out of their pyjamas.

(At Red Fountain and Cloud Tower, similar assemblies are being held.)

A devastated Avalon reveals to the school that roughly half an hour ago, something had woken him, and when he tried to figure out what it was, he recalled an incident from shortly before he'd joined them at Alfea.

He'd been caught off guard by a sudden shadow, it had overwhelmed him, and then, nothing. He'd completely forgotten about it as soon as it was over.

He'd headed down to the medical wing, and Ofelia had confirmed what he'd feared: shortly before he'd come to Alfea, Avalon had been possessed by a type of sleeper-agent spirit, which had blocked his memory, and watched everything from its hidden space at the back of his mind.

Everything he'd learned in the last several weeks, it knew.

He'd woken to the final tether between them snapping as the creature finished its relocation to a new host: Bloom.

It had (most likely) spent the last week moving in, creating a tether when they'd spoken after class, or at any point when they were physically close enough for it to reach out undetected. The transfer had worn at Bloom's psyche, causing the difficult sleep, and when she'd finally fallen asleep an hour ago, it had taken control of her body, marched it down to the hiding place of the Codex, and taken the final piece.

From the reports of the students who'd set up a rotating guard, they could confirm Bloom had flown off in the direction of the caverns that led to Darkar's lair.

Faragonda asks for volunteers only.

The Winx are the first to step up, followed closely by Mirta, and the few on campus seniors.

Several more students volunteer as well. Avalon refuses to be left behind, and Palladium is [-determined to stay with him through this emotional turmoil-] likewise ready to go save their student. (and the worlds. (again.))

It takes less than half an hour for everyone to get ready.

The Winx step aboard _The Sparx_ with several others (as easy mass transport to the caverns) to find Kiko and the pixies ready to go.

Stella and Tecna take the helm (all of the Winx have been keyed into _The Sparx_ with the help of Daphne, who walked them through the old Domino tech of her ship. Before blanching in mortification when she realised what state she and her circle – the Nymphs – had left the ship in. (Daphne and Bloom had shared a moment of sisterly hysteria when Bloom assured Daphne that she had excellent taste in sexy underwear.)) and pilot their group to the entrance, where they meet up with the volunteers from Cloud Tower and Red Fountain.

Tecna has moved their mapping program to several portable arm devices, and the small army, lead by Faragonda herself, hurries down to Downland, where the three headmasters, and the Winx, get an audience with Amentia.

The Downland princess confirms someone flying very fast passed through their city a short time ago, heading towards Darkar's lair, but as far as they knew, the caverns were still blocked off.

Tecna shows the princess the holo-map, which has been updating as they walked, and now shows a small opening in the wall.

Amentia introduces the group to her pet rockworm, and offers to help burrow an opening large enough for the cobbled together arm. They gladly accept, surprised when Amentia also offers to aide them in battle against the shadow monsters.

They understand pretty quickly that it's a political manoeuvre as well as a friendly one, after all, how would Amentia be perceived by her people if she _didn't_ offer her assistance fighting an enemy who dwells along the fringes of her own territory and posses a threat to the people of Downland?

As the army (now with added Downlanders) prepares to depart the city, the Specialists check on the Winx, making sure they're coping with the loss of their friend, and being in the Underrealm with its power draining effects.

Stella admits she's been stockpiling solar power since their last trip, since it was likely they'd have to return, but with their new Charmix powers, they'd all be able to hold of the effects a little longer.

When asked about their previous problems with entering the Underrealm, Musa and Flora confess they've been working with Diaspro and a few other rock aligned fairies to figure out how to deal with their powers under ground. (Flora shows off a few of her seed pouches, and ready made potions.) Tecna assures the boys that she's been working on her problem as well, though she's been working by herself.

The boys are impressed, and glad the Winx will be able to fight, but they notice the girls say nothing of their distress at losing Bloom, only look away with anger in the back of their eyes. (who the anger is directed at, the boys aren't sure.)

Aisha mentions, since they're talking about Diaspro, that it would have been nice to have the gem fairy present for the fight, since amongst the magic users they'd brought, only two others had rock based abilities.

A voice pops up beside her (“oh, I know, Diaspro is just so useful, and wonderful and pretty and smart-” “-and HERE! Diaspro!... what, _why_ are you here?” “Sky called, Bloom's been kidnapped? Funny thing happened to me last, any way, I thought I'd return a favour... plus the king sent me to babysit his son.”) as Diaspro makes her presence known to the group, giving a brief run down on Sky's father's desire for his son to call before going off into battles for the fate of the Magical Dimension. It doesn't hurt (in the king's opinion) that the person they're going to save recently saved Diaspro's life, claims legit (though distant) relations to the Princess of Solaria, and is dating the Crown Prince of Eraklyon.

(In the background, Lucy fusses over Mirta, worried her 'new fairy-ness' will make her susceptible to the negative effects to the Underrealm.)

* * *

They don't bother with subtle when they break through to the cavern surrounding the citadel, they bust down the walls, and Diaspro leads the two other fairies of similar elemental nature in creating a thick stone bridge to get everyone into the citadel.

What seems like an endless supply of shadow monsters await them.

The three schools come together in a united front, forming small parties based on compatibility, available skills, and that one time they all fought of an immortal army last term. The teachers take point, leading the way into battle, while the students follow their lead, and the Downlanders slot themselves in where they can.

Amentia is a terror on the battlefield. (at one point Stella swears she heard the Downland princess scream about bringing back one of her enemies' heads on a pike for her sweet husband, Sponsus (who stayed in the city to set up medical response for after the battle).)

The Trix make themselves known on the battlefield, casting their magic carelessly, not worried about hitting their monster 'allies'. The three headmasters step up and go toe to toe with the Trix, pushing their advantage as Griselda joins the fray, leaving the lesser monsters to the students, other teachers and Downlanders, who make good progress in cutting swathes through the enemy.

At Faragonda's order The Winx and Specialists leave the battle and make their way through the lair, searching for Bloom; Diaspro, Mirta and Lucy working with them. Alongside them, not only a _very_ determined Kiko and their pixies, but Athena, Discorda, Concorda and Ninfea, the Four Guardian Pixies, who have brought the key to the backdoor, just in case they're too late.

Stella, using her innate connection to Bloom, bolstered by Kiko and Lockette, leads the group to the heart of Darkar's lair, just in time to see a portal close.

Lockette considers trying to open it, but the portal is tied to Darkar and Bloom, and either one of them could destabilise it if they noticed the group trying to cross through.

The Guardian Pixies bring forth their substitute Codex and reveal the lock to the mystical back door to Relix, home to _one_ of the Ultimate Powers of the Magical Dimension.

Unfortunately, the group's presence in the room causes a security measure to activate, and they find themselves surrounded by enemies. (thankfully though, not the Trix.) The Specialists prepare to defend the group, Diaspro, bound by her vow to the king, steps up to make sure Sky doesn't die, and Mirta and Lucy join her.

When the Winx waver over whether or not to stay and fight, Diaspro lays the fact out.

If Bloom is possessed like she's been told, she'll need her closest friends to get through to her, and if Darkar's in there, they'll need as many fairies in there as they can.

(Diaspro and Mirta might be friends with Bloom, but it's a different friendship than the Winx, Lucy is only there because Mirta is there, and the boys are needed to defend the portal from this side.)

Stella knows Diaspro is right, and after a brief 'I love you/too' with Brandon, turns her attention to the lock as the fight begins behind her. It takes her mere seconds to figure it out, the Guardian pixies are flabbergasted, but Stella brushes them off with mentions of 'colour theory' and 'any fashionista would have' before diving through the portal, both in haste to find Bloom, and so she doesn't have to talk about how she figured out a difficult puzzle, that should have taken several geniuses several days, in only seconds.

The remaining Winx are close behind them, and so is Kiko and their pixies. (The Guardian pixies, their job done, return to _their_ Bonded companions.)

* * *

The world on the other side of the portal is desolate.

The sky seems to stretch on forever, out into a purple hued endlessness. The part of the world directly around the portal site is made of stone. Unmarred by the passage of time, no wear from people walking over it, yet it carries a heaviness of _age_ in its every brick. A few dozen metres from the portal site, a flat topped pyramid rises, stairs leading straight up the middle of each side.

At the top stand Darkar and the possessed Bloom, a luminous crystalline flower dissolves into being between them. It is lit with a dark flame from within.

The Winx call out for Bloom, Kiko already halfway up the monolith trying to reach her, Lockette close behind him.

Darkar sneers at the fairies, and orders Bloom to attack them.

But they came prepared.

Aisha and Flora bring up netting and vines while Musa and Tecna slam a wall into place. Before Bloom can react, Stella is already in her face, shoving a handful of glitter in her mouth. Kiko and Lockette reverse course, dashing to join their fairy.

As Bloom begins to writhe, the borrowed fairy dust loosening the grip of possession, Stella talks to her, Kiko and Lockette plastering themselves against her, being there for her as Stella remind her who she is, and begging her to wake up.

Bloom shoves Stella away just far enough to retch up a cup's worth of black tar, which Stella quickly vanquishes with her staff. Bloom's transformation dissolves with the tar, leaving her shaking and confused in her pyjamas.

Stella fills her in quickly while Darkar starts to make a fuss, not only has his minion been soundly and easily defeated, the Crystal of Power won't respond to him.

(“hey, dickhead, you need a key for that.”)

* * *

In the citadel of Shadowhaunt, the Specialist and the trio with them find themselves running out of enemies, until a large monster appears. Unbeknownst to the group, it is Kerbog, Darkar's favourite minion.

Kerbog reflects any energy based attack back at the group, but the group remembers the monster at Red Fountain, and the three girls use their aerial mobility to distract the creature while the boys take advantage, hacking their foe to pieces.

Only for it to burst into a dark smog.

The girls are ready for it though, and blast the spindly bird that emerges from the cloud.

After that, they seem to actually be out of things to fight, so they debate whether or not to go after the Winx, or remain on guard.

* * *

 

In Relix, the Winx find themselves on the defensive, but something is off about the fight. The way Darkar fights, it's not fit for out and out battle, it's a sly, insidious style. He talks as he hurls magic blasts at the girls, physically separating them even as he tries to worm his way into their heads, to divide them, to make them doubt themselves, to make them doubt each other.

The pixies do what they can, but Darkar keeps interfering with their Bond abilities, and bats their own powers aside with ease. He gains enough breathing space to try absorbing the Crystal again, but when he turns he finds it gone.

He yells in rage and Bloom (once more in her sparkly blues) laughs. Because she gets it, with a clarity that feels preternatural even for her, she understands what he is, why he can never use the power of the Crystal, and why he could never have opened the doorway without her.

Born from the ashes of the Dragon Flame, his power is everything hers isn't.

Alone, rotten, corrupted, it is evil in what it does to people, but she understands that his power is a natural part of the fabric of the universe.

They can't defeat it, but they can defeat him.

Together.

Like they can read her mind, the Winx and the pixies gather together, Charmix manifesting, the pixies synchronising with their fairies. Their magic coalesces around them in a protective bubble, which even Darkar's strongest attack can't penetrate.

Their spell builds, to purify and repair, it builds and builds and builds. Bolstered by their Charmix, and their pixies and their _unity_ , it builds.

~~(“Begone Satan!”)~~

“HARMONY OVERLOAD!”

Darkar is made of deceit and manipulation and greed, he is all the dark emotions of the universe given form. But the Winx and their pixies are truth and trust and compassion, they are everything he isn't, and in this moment, they are **stronger** than him.

The light of their convergence washes over Darkar, and when it fades, he is gone.

The negative emotions which made him continue to exist, but their manifest form is erased.

With Darkar gone, the portal he and possessed Bloom created, destabilises, affecting Relix in turn. Bloom looks around wide eyed as the small island world begins to shake, she calls for Kiko, who yells from nearby the backdoor portal. Bloom tells him to go, and the fairies and pixies rush to join him. Kiko emerges from the portal with the girls hot on his tail.

Their power use catches up with them, and they collapse to the floor, de-transforming. Nearby, the boys turn from where they've been standing guard, Mirta and Lucy likewise make their way over, but Diaspro is kneeling on the ground, arms outstretched.

Tremors work their way through the room, and Diaspro flinches every time they do. Sky tells the Winx that Diaspro has been holding the room together, it started crumbling shortly after they killed the last monster. Diaspro gets up carefully, and corrects that the entire citadel is starting to crumble, and they need to leave.

Bloom sweeps Kiko into her arms, distractedly she notices he's holding something, but the group is hurried out of the room before she can check what it is. The Specialists help the Winx out through the corridors.

The group is met part way by other members from the volunteers, who help usher them the rest of the way out.

The entire assembled group makes the slog back to Downland, where the wounded and weary are seen to. Bloom almost cries in relief when she finds out they didn't lose a single student, teacher or Downlander. Then lets out a 'ha!' when she finds out the Trix have been captured by the teachers, and will be sent to a deep stasis prison planet called The Omega Dimension.

Amentia holds a party to celebrate, but the Winx and their support team stay just long enough to be polite.

(Amentia takes one look at them five minutes into the party and tells Stella to 'get out, your face is disturbing me, and take your friends too.')

They exit the caverns to the landing field filled with transports just as the sun rises. Bloom _finally_ takes a moment to look down at her rabbit...

and freaks the heck out.

When she calms down, Bloom realises she really should have put it together sooner.

_Kiko_ was the reason Darkar had been distracted long enough for Bloom to put it all together in Relix, because  _Kiko_ had been the one to steal the Crystal of Power.

And he hadn't had time to put it back before the magic backlash from the portal had destabilised the world.

The group follows Bloom's example and proceed to freak the heck out when they too realise that Kiko is holding the Crystal of Power. They debate amongst themselves what to do, all of them tired, none of them thinking straight, they recoil at the idea of telling Faragonda, let alone the other two heads.

Some one suggests Daphne, and the group jump on the idea. They rush aboard  _The Sparx_ and make for Lake Roccaluce at the fastest (legal) speed possible.

When they reach her and explain the situation, Daphne spends almost ten minutes freaking out about the danger her sister was in, before she realises what they'd brought her.

(“Man, I thought you were cool and mysterious.” “I  _am_ cool and mysterious! But that is  _THE_ Crystal of  _Power_ ! Do you understand what it  _IS_ ?!?!?!?” “Kind of! Can you help us or not?!”)

Daphne explains that she was stuck between worlds because she was transferring the contents of a magical vault to a mobile pocket dimension, similar to Relix; so she might, theoretically, be able to put the Crystal in this pocket dimension.

The group sorts themselves out on the shore in the early morning light as Daphne and Bloom prepare to transfer the Crystal between them, agreeing that, if it works, the pocket dimension would be the safest place for it.

Stella uses the sun to rejuvenate herself, passing the energy along to Bloom, who uses it, and a touch of the Dragon Flame, to craft the... 'magical pathway' the Crystal will take. It is not a spell, but a reaching of familial magic, from Bloom to Daphne to the pocket, it is crafted with intent and instinct more than anything else.

From the outside, it looks like Bloom is covered with Daphne's ethereal glow as she passes the Crystal to her older sister, who takes it, pain spreading across her face.

As she takes the Crystal and shifts it into the pocket dimension, Daphne begins to scream. The group move, gathering close, then backing off realising they can't do anything but crowd the older woman.

Bloom reaches, but the magic is complete, and she can no longer touch her sister, who writhes in agony before her.

It feels like forever to the group, but it is only a moment before Daphne stills, her screams petering out to whimpers, then silence.

Daphne sits up slowly and lets out an intentional 'ow,' before asking the group to never make her do that again. While the magic was successful, it tore at the edges of Daphne's suspended mortality, allowing her to feel the painful death-spell that had been paused by her trapped state. It didn't move her closer or further from death, it just hurt. A  _lot_ .

Bloom nods and agrees and apologises over and over. Daphne waves her apologies off, because the pain is already gone, and her sister didn't intend for her to be in pain.

The tension dissipates when someone's stomach rumbles loudly, reminding them all that they hadn't eaten since the night before.

Stella calls a take out place in Magix and offers double if they'd deliver to the shore of Lake Roccaluce ASAP.

While they wait, Bloom finally changes out of her pyjamas, slipping into an old outfit of Daphne's they hadn't cleaned out of the closet on  _The Sparx_ .

They also bring out some picnic blankets to rest on while they ate.

(“why do you even have picnic blankets and a closet on the ship, Daphne?” “It was technically a pleasure craft-” “EW!” “not like that! It's a girl's-road-trip ship, not a world-saving  _battle cruiser_ , we just tended to use it for that because I was the only one with their own ship.”)

They spend the day relaxing by the lake with Daphne, eating take out and napping. Lucy spends a large chunk of time feeling uncomfortable, until the group is joined by pixies from the pixie village, who'd gotten word of their friends on the shore.

Mirta finds herself Bonding with a pixie named Jolly, and Lucy doesn't even have time to be jealous when a baby pixie bumps into her, and a strong Bond snaps into place between Lucy and Glim.

Daphne laughs at the group's shock, and explains that pixies can bond with _any_ magical species, they just have a naturally higher compatibility rating with fairies, which led to the _misbelief_ only fairies could Bond with pixies.

Lucy is delighted, and spends the rest if the day taking notes as Aisha gives her a full run down of not just having a Bonded pixie, but a Bonded  _baby_ pixie.

When Faragonda finds them late in the afternoon, they tell her everything that happened, concerning the Crystal of Power.

The headmistress understands, and agrees, they made the right choice, as unfortunate and regrettable as the pain it caused Daphne might have been.

When they tell her what happened in Relix, Faragonda lets them know how proud she is of them, and amazed that they had managed to do what she and her team hadn't at their age. She also tells them that the Trix have begun their journey to Omega, and that they should arrive on the ice planet in a day or two.

Upon learning they're being sent to an  _ice_ planet, the group expresses concern that Icy, the Witch of _I_ _ce_ would be able to escape.

Faragonda assures them that the Trix's powers are still burnt out, and their Gloomix incomplete, they've taken every measure possible to secure the witches, and there were no other prisons strong enough to hold them.

The group accepts that every thing that could be done, has been done, and the Trix were as secured as they were going to get, try to enjoy what's left of the day.

Until Musa pipes up with “at least _this_ deciding battle didn't interfere with an exam block” and the group realises they have only two weeks of study time before exams start.

The group say their goodbyes to Daphne, and head back to Alfea, where the Specialist, Diaspro and Lucy all head off.


	9. Week 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episodes: N/A

As the last weeks before exams begins, the Winx take to studying by Lake Roccaluce, using Daphne's expertise to help them out. They do their best to be supportive of professor Avalon, who is having a tough time dealing with the guilt of being the one who carried Darkar's spy to Bloom, but Palladium is also on the case, and the two men seem to be working through what happened, together.

The students settle back in to normal, non universe-under-threat school work, and the Winx take every chance to enjoy their free time, while Mirta and Lucy work with their pixies.

Sky takes the opportunity to take Bloom on a date on Eraklyon, supervised by Brandon and Diaspro.

And several palace guards.

While Sky and Bloom talk about things, and walk through one of Eraklyon's gardens, Brandon pulls Diaspro aside, noticing an unusual gloom in the fairy.

Diaspro reluctantly admits that she's felt very worn out lately, that ever since she and Sky had postponed their engagement (they both know at this point that it's cancelled), she's felt lost. Her entire life had been planned out, she'd worked every day of it to become the person who would one day sit on the throne beside Sky, and now her future, so certain for so long, is _gone_.

She doesn't know what to do, or how to handle it, and she's trying her best.

But it still feels like everything is crumbling and she doesn't feel like she can ask for help, from anyone.

She continues on to say that the easiest thing to do would be to break Bloom and Sky up, to take back her place by his side.

But she likes Bloom, she tells Brandon quietly, she really does, and Bloom makes Sky happy in a way Diaspro never had, and how could Diaspro ruin that just for a piece of stability?!

Brandon wraps his arms around her, lightly enough that she can break his grip is she wants to (she doesn't) and tells Diaspro that things will be alright, the relationships might have changed, but she's one of them (and here Brandon makes a circling, encompassing gesture, and she understands he doesn't just mean him and Sky, or Eraklyon, but the Specialist and the Winx) and they've got her back.

Diaspro, who has spent her entire life trying to do it all herself, to be the best, to be good enough to not need anyone else, takes a breath, and a leap of faith, and reaches out.

Warmth and light blossom on her chest, materialising into a Charmix.

(Two of the guards come racing over when they realise their princess is crying, but she assures them it's happy tears, showing off her new mystical broach.)


	10. Week 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episode 216 - Hallowinx  
> (The Halloween Episode)

During the first few days of the week, Bloom video calls her parents on Earth, and introduces them to Daphne.

Vanessa and Mike are as welcoming towards the older fairy as Bloom had hoped, and Daphne almost starts crying with relief when she considers how lucky it had been that her protective spells had brought Bloom and the Earth couple together.

While on the call, the couple tell Bloom that Mitzy has invited her to a Halloween party. The Rest of the Winx, and their pixies, who had been hanging out off screen from the call, immediately crowd around and ask for details.

As soon as Vanessa mentions 'costumes' Stella is pulling an art book from her carry space, flipping through until she finds a section labelled 'Bewitching Winx' showing it to Bloom and Vanessa, asking if they'd be appropriate for the party.

Bloom laughs, saying they'd be perfect, and telling Vanessa to 'please RSVP me for plus 5?' Kiko Jumps into her lap, 'plus six.' (off screen the pixies protest, until Flora reminds them that normal Earth Humans can't see them anyway.)

Daphne leans over Stella's shoulder and looks over the designs, considers for a moment, then offers to teach Stella how to imbue the costume wings with a flight and sensory spells so they'd work almost like the Winx's real wings.

After Mike and Vanessa say their goodbyes, the Winx settle down for 'class' with Daphne.

* * *

 

Bloom sees Mirta later that day and extends an invite, but Mirta turns it down when she finds out the day, blushing as she explains she and Lucy have a day out planned before exams start.

Bloom wishes her friend good luck with her date (“it's not a  _date_ date!”), but before she can leave to check on Stella, who is determined to make the 'costumes' herself (“no one else will do it right!”) Jolly stops her with a dire warning, of deceit, and three women.

Bloom feels a chill go down her spine, thinking automatically off the Trix, but Jolly shakes her head when Bloom asks if that's who she means. Jolly tells Bloom to beware of the masks people wear, as a cruel trick awaits her and her friends.

Unsure what else to do, Bloom thanks the Pixie of Fortune Telling for her advice, and heads off to find her friends.

After talking it over, the group comes to the conclusion that Jolly may have meant the party they're planning to attend, where people will be wearing masks.

* * *

 

After letting Faragonda know they're going, and confirming what time their first exam is the next day, (having arranged the trip with her earlier in the week,) the Winx, Kiko, and the pixies head off to Earth, via Stella's staff powered teleport.

They arrive around midday at Bloom's home, where she introduces everyone to her parents.

The girls help add a few final touches to the house for trick-or-treaters before getting dressed.

All of the girls are pleased with their outfits and the fit, Kiko shows off his matching vest and cape, while the pixies change into animal inspired outfits, made mostly of soft fluffy looking clothes, and ears on headbands.

The pixies decided to do something fun just for them since Mike and Vanessa are the only adults that can see them on Earth.

The girls fly from Bloom's to the mansion where the party is being held, testing out the enchantments on their false wings, which hold up amazingly well throughout the flight. Kiko seems a little worried in his place in Bloom's arms, but she puts that down to him not liking the extreme height.

As they fly, the girls talk about the somewhat uncomfortable feel of Earth, the way it feels drained of magic. Bloom admits she didn't notice before she met Stella, but she's fairly certain it's always been that way, and that tonight, it actually felt less drained somehow, than last time she'd been back on Earth, which Stella and Flora agree with.

They girls wonder if drained feeling has anything to do with the disappearance of Earth's fairies, but they arrive at their destination before they can get too invested in the topic.

* * *

 

When they see the gloomy nature of the woods they'll have to pass through to get to the house, the girls rethink their landing point, but decide to make the trek so they aren't seen landing by the other guests. Stella changes her Ring into its staff form, and conjures a soft protective light to it's ornamental disc, using it to light the area.

The girls don some basic outer robes to keep their costumes clean on the walk up to the house, and Bloom keeps hold of Kiko while the pixies flit around. Bloom tells Kiko to stay with her until they get inside so he doesn't dirty his costume. Kiko nods in agreement, and Musa turns her head to find the source of the strange sounds that creep from the woods.

Between her, and Tecna, they confirm it's coming from speakers.

Aisha reminds everyone to be on their guard concerning Jolly's warning, but to try to have fun.

Flora giggles and asks 'what if solving this mystery  _is_ the fun?' Stella takes the set up to deliver a subtle jab at Mitzy, 'well, if what Bloom's says about the hostess is true? It probably will be.'

The girls giggle as they begin to navigate the path to the front door. As the girls pass through some of the narrower parts of the path, they form a single line, with Flora at the rear. As she passes a black cat on a short post it turns its head and greats her with a monotone 'hello Flora.'

She calls the girls back to her as she turns to find the cat gone.

When they ask her what's wrong, she tells them about the talking cat, which had greeted her  _ by name _ .

Musa checks for the sound of movement, but can't catch anything that sounds like a cat.

The group would put it down to electronics, but the fact the cat had known Flora's name was concerning.

Adding it to the list of things they had to figure out, the group continue on, finally spotting lights through the trees. As they enter into the jack-o-lantern littered ground surrounding the mansion itself, murmuring from the trees catches Musa's attention. She focuses in in time to hear someone female sounding say something about a 'bone white mask'.

She whips her head around to see someone tall and lanky with long dark hair and a pale dress move further into the woods. Quietly she lets the others know what she's seen.

Tecna declares that 'that's it' and pulls a container out of her carry space, opening it, she presents the girls with small decals to place on the area just behind their ears. She tells them it's a project she's been working on to improve their communications long distance, with out the standard bulk. The Decals include a pink flower, an orange star, a blue love heart, a red music note, a green drop shape, and a purple triangle.

The girls apply them and do a quick test, confirming they can quietly radio each other. Kiko makes a sad noise when he realises he doesn't get one, then stroke his fur in a sad way that seems to say 'that's okay, it probably wouldn't have stuck in my fur anyway :( '.

Bloom tells him he'll just have to stick close to her, which brightens his mood.

('Alright, now let's get in there, we just vanquished Satan, we can handle some high-schoolers with no magic.'

'...who's 'Satan'?'

'Darkar, I was talking about Darkar... it's an Earth based cultural reference, I'm sorry, I'll explain it later.')

The Winx finally mount the front steps and knock on the door. It creaks open to reveal no one for a second before a jack-o-lantern in a jest hat drops down. A loud rip and thump sound out as Stella uses the butt of her staff to smack it away.

A maid appears in the doorway looking  _very_ annoyed.

'Sorry, a few too many years of self-defence training,' Stella tries to laugh it off, but the maid dismisses her, turning to Bloom to ask who she is and what she wants. Bloom tells the maid her name, and hands over her invitation. The maid frowns but allows the group in, showing them to the main room. Tecna makes several comments concerning the house's structural integrity, or lack there of.

In the main room, the girls see plenty of people in costumes, but no sign of Mitzy. The girls consider mingling, but a few seconds later, their hostess arrives at the top of a staircase. She descends 'gracefully' as music plays, and she talks about how expensive her dress is.

The Winx try not to snort as Stella whispers 'that is the  _wrong_ way to glitter,' in reference to Mitzy's outfit. They're fairies, their normal outfits were 85%+ glitter, they knew how to glitter.

As Mitzy's slow walk down the stairs reaches two thirds of the way, the music begins to skip, and the hostess rushes down the last few steps to berate the boy in charge of the music table.

She tells him to leave and _never_ show his face again.

The Winx watch as he gets up, and makes his way to the front door, tears in his eyes. Musa goes after him, to make sure he's okay. She offers some words of encouragement as she escorts him down the path, a hastily conjured lantern in hand, and by the time they reach the exit he seems like he'll be just fine.

As he heads off, a short man in a red and blue outfit arrives, he tells her he's there to deliver some cakes to Mitzy's party. Musa offers to take him up to the house, but he says he has other deliveries, and just hands her a box before leaving.

Musa opens it as she walks, floating the lantern with her magic, she picks up one of the pumpkin shaped cakes and raises it to take a quick nibble.

'I wouldn't eat it,' a monotone voice says, and Musa sees the shape of a cat in the corner of her eye, but she has to catch the box before it falls from her startled grasp. When she finally turns to check, there's no sign of any cat. Musa drops the cake back in the box, and casts several of the food inspection spells Stella and Aisha had shared with the group.

The cakes weren't poisonous, but they apparently tasted  _terrible_ . 

Musa contacts the others as she walks to tell them about the cat and the cakes, the others let her know she hasn't missed much, Mitzy has been throwing a mild tantrum about everyone ruining her party.

Listening to the girls, she misses three figures lumbering around moaning about maggots in faces.

Just as she reaches the house, they tell her to hurry up, because Mitzy has just turned on them about their 'lame ass robes'.

Musa makes it through the door, and shoves the cake box into the maid's hands, just in time to drop her robe with the other Winx.

The other guests stare in shock at the group's witch inspired darkly-cute-and-fun fairy outfits. Even Kiko works his dashing cape and vest.

The other guests crowd around and ask about the costumes, the girls remain vague, and when asked how they'd made their wings, Flora replies with 'it's a secret.'

Because it was a secret.

And a fabric that didn't exist on Earth.

Mitzy shoves her way forward, cake box in hand, offering the Winx some cakes. Bloom looks up from a chat with one of the other girls about her skirt, and tells Mitzy to 'pick out a good one for me.'

When the scowling Mitzy opens the box, the small pumpkin cakes jump up, glowing, they begin to circle around Mitzy, who freaks out and dashes from the room. Most of the guests follow her, trying to beat the floating cakes away.

The Winx laugh amongst themselves, and when Musa asks if anyone had recorded that, Tecna lets out an affirmative hum, and 'fixes' a lock of her hair, drawing Musa's attention to the large bow in Tecna's hair, where the music fairy can see a small ladybug just peeking out. The same kind of ladybug Tecna's micro camera's are typically disguised as.

Looking around with new eyes, she spots a few more of the little bugs.

Tecna remarks nonchalantly how it's 'amazing what one can do when others are distracted by tantrums,' and the girls have another laugh. (Bloom told her friends about Mitzy, they know _exactly_ what kind of person she is.)

Mitzy reappears a short time later, no sign of floating cakes. The party gets back to its boring baseline of everyone standing around, barely talking, and no one dancing. The group splits up to mingle, and look for any sign of the conspiracy Jolly had hinted at.

Tecna notes a large crack on one wall, which seems to originate from behind a photo. When Digit notices it's a picture of three women, it strikes enough of a chord for Tecna to comm the others. When Tecna describes the three faceless women in the picture, Musa mentions that it sounds like the 'bone white mask' figure from the woods outside.

In an upstairs room, Aisha finds another crack-sprouting-picture, a news paper clipping with a picture of the mansion they're in. It talks about the 'Silent Villa', and how no renovators would go near it, because the house aged 50 years a just weeks whenever some one tried to refurbish the house. Millions of dollars had been lost trying to fix the place up.

'So, haunted house, or part of the trap?' the girls wonder amongst themselves.

Bloom is pulled away from the investigation though, when the maid arrives to tell her Mitzy has fallen sick, and is asking for Bloom.

Mizty claims to have seen 'them', flailing about in her bed as she tells Bloom the backstory of the house.

Of three sisters who'd lived there with their younger sister, until the youngest was killed when someone tried to destroy the house.

One of the other guests shows them a newspaper article about it, and tells them how, to seek revenge, the three sisters made a deal with powerful witches.

The Winx share a look over the alleged magic contract that had taken place roughly 100 years ago, during a time when the only suspected magical on the planet would have been the Fairy Godmother that Daphne had been trying to send Bloom to during the second siege of Domino.

Stella says 'these sisters must be pretty ugly if they're breaking mirrors' but manages to refrain from adding 'are you sure it wasn't  _your_ face that cracked the mirror Mitzy?' Because Bloom doesn't need her to be that level of petty right now.

When Mitzy starts begging Bloom to help her, since Bloom is 'the only one who can help' her, Bloom listens to her heightened instincts, and while out loud she is kind and compassionate to Mitzy, inside, she calls bullshit.

Bloom and the Winx move into the hall, and Bloom begins signing to her friends, who read the hand signals with ease. Tecna and Stella lag behind, while the others move downstairs to listen to the other guests as they wail to Bloom, going on about how all the glass on the pictures and mirrors broke at once.

Bloom takes charge, ordering everyone into groups, she gets them to search the cupboards for salt and iron, acting like she's preparing them for a battle against the supernatural. (Of course, Bloom bases her preparations on her 'knowledge of the supernatural' which she'd picked up from her childhood fascination with fairies, and _not_ on her actual Alfea learned knowledge of warding.)

Mean while, Stella and Tecna have slipped 'out'.

Only when they reappear, does Bloom tell everyone to stay inside while she and her friends take a look around outside.

Through the fog they see movement, lanky figures by the tree line, Musa and Flora reach out with their powers. Getting a sense of what they are facing.

'Stilts and costumes,' Flora confirms, before Bloom gives the go ahead. Flora brings the wood of the stilts back to life, and Musa snatches up the sounds of three screams before they can go anywhere.

The costumes slip up and off the trio of human girls, leaving them looking terrified, bound from the knees down by wood, and unable to make a sound as their costumes seem to come to life, swaying in the air.

The Winx 'react' like frightened teenagers, running for the only opening the trio wouldn't have blocked off.

The three wraith costumes drift to the ground, and glide along behind them, moving in awkward swaying motions that would be impossible for any human to mimic, let alone one on stilts.

They move into the cemetery where lights float above the grave stones.

While Flora says 'we're surrounded' she adds a signed 'humans' to her warning. They'd expected as much.

When she hears the comments around them, Musa signs to Stella and Aisha.

Echoing groans begin to sound through the graveyard as the lights from the 'floating' pumpkins rise from their grinning shells, the fog thickening on the ground until no one can see their own feet.

The 'three sisters' slither into the clearing amongst the tombstones, circling around the Winx as they continue their diatribe about maggots and faces and bone white masks.

Bloom calls out to the others, telling them to be brave, they  _can_ handle this, that they defeated that demon army, and the witches, and the embodiment of evil itself, a few angry ghosts will be nothing.

Around them, the guests in on the prank are getting worried, Bloom's 'pep talk' making them realise that something is not right.

They notice how far above them the lantern lights are just as 'the fourth sister' steps into the clearing.

Bloom steps forward, while the other Winx strain to keep in character, and begins trying to negotiate with 'the fourth sister', who just moans until the other three suddenly seem to notice her presence. The turn, and swoop across the clearing, leaving trails in the thick fog that covers the ground.

'Sister' they begin chanting, swirling tighter and tighter around her, and higher and higher above. From the shadows of the forest dark creatures seem to emerge, half hidden by the fog and gloom, half seen, half imagined nightmares.

The fourth sister begins to scream, batting the others away as the girl beneath the mask realises it's not her minions beneath the sheets. The fog roils, and the others guests add their screams, as the dense vapour peels back to reveal every surface, and quite a few guests, covered in a variety of insects up to the waist.

Mitzy tears off the costume, ripping things in her haste to free herself from the confines. She takes off running for the house, her guests not far behind her.

The Winx are silent for a moment, until laughter from the air above them causes their poker faces to crack. The insects swarm back into hiding, and the monsters on the edge of sight vanish. The fog takes a little longer to ebb back into a light, atmospheric haze, but Musa shutters the sounds instantly.

The pixies ditch the heavy costumes on the ground, and Mirta and Lucy float down far enough to be seen through what remains of the mist, Kiko held securely in Mirta's arms.

Chuckling, Lucy admits that the Winx are alright, for a bunch of fairies. Mirta drops to the ground completely and thanks the girls for thinking of her. Tecna shrugs and brushes it off, saying they needed the help, and Mirta had once told them about how she and Lucy had always planned to pull of a Nightmare Prank like this, it was the only logical conclusion.

Bloom apologises for interrupting their date, but the duo brush her off, saying this was plenty of fun, and a great way to spend the night.

'It was, indeed, very amusing,' comes a monotone voice, and the group turn to find the black cat sitting on a gravestone.

Bloom asks after the cat's identity, but he merely shrugs, and says only that he is 'a passing mischief maker who happens to be a fan of the way you girls... turn tables, shall we say.'

In less than a blink the cat is gone.

In the quite that descends, Stella clicks her tongue, and asks if anyone wants to head back to the party. Lucy tries to decline, saying she and Mirta aren't dressed, but as soon as Bloom retrieves her rabbit, Stella snaps her fingers, casting an outfit changing spell.

Mirta and Lucy's clothes are changed to outfits similar to the Winx's, though Lucy sports what Bloom has told her is considered a 'witch's hat' on Earth, rather than wings like Mirta and the rest.

('what, you thought I _didn't_ plan for them just in case? Please, I have an outfit for Diaspro too.')

On the way back to the house, Tecna does some quick research on Earth's internet (which is slow and terrible and _just let her fix it_! **please**?) and finds out that the three sisters _had_ been real, but there had been no fourth, and the house had only swapped hands a few times, with almost no attempts at renovations.

The group makes their way up to the house where they find a bunch of scared teenagers (the trio in the costumes had been released remotely by Flora and rushed for the house alongside their co-conspirators.)

Bloom tells everyone that, Mitzy had woken the three sisters who had actually lived in the house, the trio had been aggravated by what Mitzy had done, but also infected by her version of events, and forced to play out Mitzy's falsehood.

Bloom goes on to tell everyone that the situation has been handled, and that Mitzy not need worry about  _those_ three sisters again.

'Also, two more of my friends showed up after all, that's okay right?'

Between Tecna, Stella and Musa, the party has lights and good music in no time. The Winx, Mirta, Lucy, Kiko and the unseen pixies all making themselves at home on the dance floor. Slowly, the other guests unfolded from their frightened huddle and joined the girls.

* * *

 

The group manages to get a few hours of sleep back at Bloom's house, and gratefully eat breakfast cooked by Vanessa, she and her husband wishing all the girls luck on their exams before they teleport back to Alfea, Bloom promising to see her parents in a week, once exams were over and done with.


End file.
